Whiteheart's Decision
by FrogManWritings
Summary: Whiteheart has always considered himself a loyal cat to Darkclan, always doing as he's told. However, when secrets come out about his father and leader of the clan doing some horrid things, as well as planning to do something big, he has to make a decision. Does he stay with his home-clan and follow in his father's footsteps, or does he leave and try and stop him?
1. Allegiances

Allegiances

Darkclan

Leader

Redstar, pitch black tom with near red amber eyes

Deputy

Duckthroat, Yellow-ginger tom with a fluffy chest and throat

Medicine Cat

Dawnsight, Slender pale tom with a ginger stripe down his back

Medicine Cat Apprentice

Glasspaw, Blue-gray she-cat with silver eyes

Warriors

Dogface, Scar-riddled pale-brown tom with an unusually long snout and green eyes

Burrclaw, Dark brown tabby she-cat with long, thick claws

Pantherpelt, Bluish black tabby tom with amber eyes

Sunsight, Pure white tom with bright yellow eyes

Fernheart, Beautiful light brown she-cat with several dark spots along her back

Fiercespirit, Muscular brown and white tom with dark blue eyes

Russetfox, Brown-russet she-cat with a slender tail and pale amber eyes

Firefrog, Bright ginger tabby tom with long legs and green eyes

Apprentices

Blackpaw, Dark gray tom with black spots and green eyes

Mentor: Burrclaw

Amberpaw, Gray she-cat with a darker streak along her black and amber eyes

Mentor: Duckthroat

Ocelotpaw, Dusty brown-gray tom with unusual, ocelot like spots over his body

Mentor: Pantherpelt

Blazepaw, Pale ginger tabby she-cat with shining blue eyes

Mentor: Sunsight

Queens

Lilyfur, Pale brown queen with darker specks along her body and a white underbelly

Mate: Redstar

Kits: Whitekit

Brownfur, Brown-tan queen with a graying muzzle and light green eyes

Mate: Fiercespirit

Kits: Cactuskit, Peachkit, Clawkit, and Oak-kit

Elders

Smoothstep, Blue-black tom with large paws and blue eyes

Rainstorm, Tortoiseshell she-cat with dark blue eyes

Clawclan

Leader

Fishstar, Pale peach and white spotted tom with light blue eyes

Deputy

Russetstorm, Dark ginger tom with darker legs and yellow-green eyes

Medicine Cat

Treeleaf, Graying brown tom with large ears and amber eyes

Medicine Cat Apprentice

Chocolatepaw, Brown she-cat with light and dark splotches and brown eyes

Warriors

Largeleap, Huge tortoiseshell tom with grass green eyes

Snarl-Lip, Calico tom with a nasty scar on his upper lip and green eyes

Badgerpelt, Black tom with white stripes down his spine

Beesting, Yellow tabby she-cat with a sharp tail and brown eyes

Briarlight, Pale brown she-cat with blue eyes

Tanstripe, Pale tan tabby tom with yellow eyes

Apprentices

Dustpaw, Pale brown-gray she-cat with a light underbelly and blue eyes

Mentor: Russetstorm

Sandpaw, Dark tan tom with ocean blue eyes

Mentor: Largeleap

Greenpaw, Dark gray she-cat with green eyes

Mentor: Tanstripe

Beetlepaw, Brown tabby tom with a solid black tail and yellow eyes

Mentor: Fishstar

Queens

Antheart, Brown she-cat with several black specks on her chest

Mate: Largeleap

Kits: Smallkit, Adderkit, Foxkit

Frostflower, Snowy white she-cat with black paws and sky blue eyes

Mate: Badgerpelt

Kits: Spottedkit, Squirrelkit

Elders

Snowlion, Fluffy white tom with a mane-like coat of fur on his neck and blue eyes

Leafwind, Graying tortoiseshell she-cat with light green eyes

Starshine, Silver tom with spiky ear tufts and green eyes

Forestclan

Leader

Cloverstar, Tortoiseshell she-cat with a fluffy tail-tip and yellow eyes

Deputy

Wolfheart, Light brown tom with a black chest and underbelly

Medicine Cat

Sixstripe, Brown she-cat with six darker stripes along her back and green eyes

Medicine Cat Apprentice

N/A

Warriors

Sharpclaw, Siamese-colored tom with long claws and light amber eyes

Cloudear, Light grey tom with large, white ears and blue eyes

Batwing, Large black she-cat with gray ears and green eyes

Storktail, Fluffy pale silver and gray tom with yellow eyes

Hardstone, Large gray-brown tom with a broad muzzle and green eyes

Apprentices

Dirtypaw, Pale brown tom with several dark spots on his fur and amber eyes

Mentor: Sharpclaw

Quickpaw, Pale ginger tabby she-cat with long legs and blue eyes

Mentor: Storktail

Queens

Mossyfur, Long furred tabby she-cat with green eyes

Mate: Cloudear

Elders

Bluesky, Beautiful blue-gray she-cat with torn ears

Sunfur, Bright ginger tom with a white underbelly

Swiftclan

Leader

Mountainstar, White tom with several brown tabby patches and light green eyes

Deputy

Elkheart, Tan and white she-cat with a long body and blue eyes

Medicine Cat

Rockshade, Dark gray tabby tom with a missing eye

Medicine Cat Apprentice

Ravencall, Small black-blue she-cat with a silver patch on her chest

Warriors

Elderclaw, Old, battle-ridden gray tom with long fangs and amber eyes

Thundertail, Silver tabby tom with bright yellow eyes and a bent tail

Steelfur, Huge, solid gray she-cat with small ears and green eyes

Honeydrop, Small tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

Plumseed, White tabby tom with near purple blue eyes

Apprentices

Groundpaw, Dusty brown tom with large paws and yellow eyes

Mentor: Elkheart

Eelpaw, Skinny calico she-cat with a pointed tail and yellow eyes

Mentor: Steelfur

Blackpaw, Black furred tom with a gray mark on his chest and blue eyes

Mentor: Plumseed

Queens

Barkclaw, Brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Mate: Thundertail

Kits: Longkit and Grasskit

Elders

Moonclaw, Dark silver tom with blind, white eyes


	2. Chapter 1

"Such a gorgeous little thing!" "A strong one this one will be!" "Look at his little face!" "Those muscles are already coming to form!" Were all the little kit could hear half the time he was just trying to rest with his mother, either complimenting his cuteness or his masculinity. Whitekit was only a few moonhighs old and yet everyone crowded him and spoke of how great he would be. Why? Well because his father was the glorious leader of Darkclan, Redstar. Sometimes he wishes the leader wasn't his dad, though that was only because of all the curiosity and endless compliments coming from the queens and other kits in the den. Though thankfully he had a wonderful mother who helped shield him from all the prying voices all day. Her name was Lilyfur, and she was both supportive AND comfortable! Whitekit could sleep in her soft fur for moons! Though unfortunately it was only a few naps a day and to sleep all of the night. The time of day was obvious to the young one as he felt his eyelids shield his eyes from the shining bright sun. It was sunhigh and the kit hated it. "Come on little one, you can't hide from the sun forever." A soft, teasing voice was heard above him, and Whitekit instantly recognized it as his mother. "But it's so bright and annoying!" Was all Whitekit could puff out in protest, using his tiny paws to help cover his face.

"Whitekit, come on! You are always sleeping, you need to play with us!" That would be Cactuskit, an obnoxious burr apart of the other litter in the nursery. Yes, a burr. He was named Cactuskit for a reason. For some reason, his black fur sticks out like thorns from his pelt, making him look like a tiny porcupine. Luckily the clumped up fur wasn't as sharp as a thorn, but still annoying to feel poke at you when you are just trying to rest. "Whitekit, how about you go out and play with them? How are you going to be a warrior when all you do is sleep?" His mother's soothing, yet encouraging tone once again whispered into his ear and a gentle paw pushed him off his belly and up onto his shaky legs. With a reluctant grunt, Whitekit adjusted his blue gaze to the harsh sunlight as his short legs began stepping their way through the leafy floor of the nursery. His denmates must've gave up on getting him up, since he could only see Brownfur snoozing on the other side of the den. Soon, the little kit found himself at the entrance of the large nursery and he gazed backwards towards his mother who only gave him a loving look before resting her head on her front paws. Taking a deep breath, Whitekit walked out of the well-fortified den, the sun so much brighter when he didn't have a roof to protect himself with. Though it only look a few moments of adjustment to really gaze upon the camp, his home. His paws felt hard earth below him, a little hot on his pads but not too irritating as his gaze tried to capture everything at once. Large huddles of bushes and well tied together sticks made up the other dens, with a much larger den, bigger than the nursery, resting upon a higher part of the camp. Leaves tied together with sticks, along with moss to cover the entrance and several stones surrounding the base, it seemed big enough for the entire clan to live in!

"Redstar isn't up there right now, young one." A sudden voice jumped him from his entrancement with all of his new surroundings back to reality and Whitekit turned his head only to see a pair of long, muscular legs. Arching his head back, he could see the face of who interrupted his thoughts, to see a long snout with a long, gnarly scar running along the bridge of it. A dirty fang curved below his bottom lip, and only as Whitekit looked upon the unknown's body, he could see several similar scars and scabs littering his body. Unknowing of just who this cat was, he took a step forward with his tail raised, his tiny black stubs for claws digging into the hard ground. "Heh, been a while since one of you got scared of me…" The huge tom purred with amusement, not taking the kit's fright very seriously as he laid down on his stomach in front of Whitekit so he didn't have to tilt his head up so high to face him. "Name's Dogface, welcome to Darkclan." The tom stated in a brutish voice, sounding gritty like an elder's, but had the weight of a veteran warrior, so the son of a leader bowed his head to the newly introduced Dogface. "I'm Whitekit... so where is Redstar?" He asked, standing up straight when he realized the scarred warrior wasn't going to hurt him. "Leading a patrol up near the thunderpath. Been a while, he should be back soon." The older tom responded, flattening the fur on his paws with his tongue, trying his best to look friendly to the little kit but his eyes just told the story of him being bored. Maybe I shouldn't be bothering him… Whitekit thought to himself as the warrior seemed ready to snooze having to deal with him. "Well uh… I'm going to explore some more..." He said, backing himself backwards, thankful for Dogface's lack of resistance to the end of the conversation as he moved on.

"So that's Redstar's den, wonder what else is here…" Whitekit quietly stated to himself, continuing to pad along the warm ground, occasionally lifting a paw and shaking it some to cool off his pads. His blue gaze continued to wander the seemingly endless circle of dens, surely ONE of them had something interesting inside. Thus, he approached the closest one to him, one much smaller compared to the rest of the dens, the smell of cats growing stronger as his muzzle inched closer to the moss-covered entrance of the den. Suddenly, just as he was about to set foot into the unknown, he could make out two pairs of eyes staring straight at him. "Well well, a little mousey has found their way into our den!" Came from the darkness, "Say Amberpaw, I'm feeling a bit hungry, care for a little snack?" There was no response to the question other than a nod Whitekit could barely make out from deeper in the den. He bristled his fur and once again unsheathed his claws before speaking up, completely terrified of the two. "I-I'm not a mouse! I'm your clanmate!" Though his protest seemed to only invite more sinister voices. "Oh Blackpaw! It seems the mice have learned how to talk, maybe we should spare it and show the rest of the clan!" A more feminine voice came from the den, to which the masculine voice simply let out a 'mrroow' of laughter. "And lose out on such a juicy meal? No way! Hopefully there are more talking mice out there." With the last statement, the shadows soon came to reveal themselves, on Whitekit's left was a dark gray tom with several black splotches covering his lean body. And his right showed a solid gray she-cat with a black stripe running along her spine and tail. "Dibs on the belly!" Blackpaw hissed, slowly stalking forward while Amberpaw did the same. The little kit was frozen in fear, his eyes darting from each cat, trying to recognize which would make the first move so he could react.

Why don't they see I'm a cat like them?! Whitekit thought, his entire body shivering in fear as the two much bigger cats moved in on him. Suddenly, he saw Blackpaw's haunches tense and almost instantly afterwards the tom sprung in the air in a pounce towards the helpless kit. As the youngling screamed out in panic and cowered from the attack, it never seem to come, as his scream seemed to alert someone else in the camp and as Whitekit nervously gazed upwards, he could see a muscular, tall tom pinning the attacker down on his back, claws firmly sank in his slim shoulders. "Now just what do you two think you are doing?!" A terrifying tone came from the kit's savior, almost ringing in his ears as he could see Amberpaw cowering away in fear of the much bigger tom and his intimidating voice. "We… we were just playing with him! We weren't going to hurt him!" Amberpaw's once sinister tone turned into little more than a chirp from a helpless chick. However it seemed Blackpaw wasn't as scared as the tom as his partner was, gazing upwards towards the unknown tom. "It's not our fault he's such a scaredy-mouse!" The apprentice's words seemed to only anger the tom, as his claws were pulled from his shoulder and slashed upon his cheek, which caused the bully to cry out in pain. "I ever see you two pulling something like this again, I won't let you off so easily. Blackpaw, get those wounds looked at, and Amberpaw, go clean out the elders' dirt. Blackpaw, you'll join her once Dawnsight is done with you." The muscular cat ordered with authority, to which both cats scurried off quickly to do what they were told.

Whitekit was still cowering away by the time the unknown warrior padded over to him, in which Whitekit slowly looked upwards to meet the gaze of whoever just saved him. His fur was almost pitch-black with a lean, muscular body. His long, sharp claws shone red with the blood of the bully apprentice, almost matching his eyes which were a dark near scarlet amber. This must be… "Redstar!" Whitekit blurted out, standing up tall and shaking the dust clear of his snow-white pelt. "Damn apprentices and their stupid games, hopefully that will teach them to stop it and focus on their duties." Redstar stated grumpily, seeming to not hear his son's call of his name. However that didn't last long as the leader leaned his head down and dragged his tongue along his kit's head, which caused the little bundle to try and shake his head clear of the saliva his father just put on him. "If those two ever do anything to mess with you again, just come and see me and I'll deal with them." The black tom said, curling his thin tail around Whitekit's small body. "Come now, let's get you something to eat. Must be sick of milk right about now, huh?" He offered his son, who could only nod gratefully as a small grumble of hunger came from his round belly. With that, Redstar hoisted Whitekit up onto his back as he walked to the fresh-kill pile, stinking of plenty of fresh prey that his patrol recently brought in.


	3. Chapter 2

"Good form, though you could also balance yourself with your tail so your strikes can be more accurate." The fatherly voice encouraged Whitekit as he stood up on his hindlegs, lip raised in a half-menacing snarl and two pairs of tiny claws unsheathed to fight an invisible opponent. With the helpful tip, the kit lowered his raised tail down onto the ground and put less weight on his hind legs, causing him to lose most of his stumble. "Perfect, now let's see how that helped." Redstar meowed with a purr, picking out some large leaves the size of his son's head and placing them on the top of his dark paws. To his side were a few broken leaves, indicating that the two had been practicing this for a while now. Whitekit had been getting better, but after a few slashes he often found himself wobbling too much to strike the leaves floating downward right in front of him. "And…. Go!" And just like that, several oval shapes flew up into the air far above Whitekit's waiting stance, before slowly falling down the easy wind. Ok, that one! Then that one! No no no, the other one! The training tom quickly thought to himself, trying to get a gameplan for striking the targets, though his thoughts were blurred as he first struck out at the closest frond, immediately patting it down to the warm ground. Thanks to his father's lesson, he was able to balance himself up against his tail to more accurately strike the next leaf, and then the next, before each target was struck to the ground with some claw marks to show for it. "Perfect! Couldn't ask better from a warrior!" Redstar instantly complimented his son's performance, dragging his wet tongue along his forehead, which caused the kit to let out a gag of slight disgust and use his paw to wipe the saliva off his head.

It had been a moon since the two kin's first real interaction where Redstar saved his son from two mean apprentices playing games with the oblivious bundle. Ever since then, Whitekit couldn't find himself a fox-length away from his father, always sharing meals and playing games, he even let him come up-top his den for announcements! He had caught a few ill glares from the other kits, apprentices, even a few warriors, though like Redstar told him, "No one would dare to question him." It must be so nice to be a leader! You can make your own decisions and no one could judge him for it! He could even attack the evil Clawclan and show them what for! Whitekit had heard stories from some of the senior warriors about the trouble their neighbor clan was causing for them, lots of battle scars and mean accusations, even stolen prey! Lucky for them, Redstar chose not to attack back.

Though just as his mind focused back on reality, Whitekit saw a patrol of warriors enter the camp, some seeming to be wounded, but their mouths full of prey, mostly hares and birds. With that, Redstar stood up and walked over to the warrior in the front of the group, a huge brown and white warrior with piercing blue eyes. That was Fiercespirit, one of the senior warriors of the clan, though he was younger than most of the other warriors. Perhaps he earned his status because of his size? After all, such a towering cat like him seemed to be born a leader. Others cats with Fiercespirit were Burrclaw, Russetfox and Firefrog, each of which fantastic hunters. How did they get all clawed up while just hunting? The little kit was about to step forward to try and hear what happened, when a tail curled around him, halting him. "Let Redstar handle things, little one." Said a soft, masculine voice, in which only when Whitekit looked upward at the unknown figure did he see it was Dawnsight that stopped him. Dawnsight was the medicine cat of Darkclan, a skinny pale tom with a notable stripe along his back. He was still pretty young, being made the medicine cat when his mentor, a she-cat named Talltree died due to a rabid dog that got loose. But that seemed to only encourage him in his duties, having a maturity beyond his age and an excellent knowledge of herbs and medicine. "But they are hurt! I want to find out what happened!" Whitekit protested, in which Dawnsight could only sigh heavily and pat the kit's head with his paw. "I'm sure Redstar will let everyone know soon enough..." He said blankly, "Plus if they are hurt, they are going to need my help, and a little kit asking questions isn't going to heal their wounds." With that, the healer walked off towards the injured group, where Whitekit could make out Fiercespirit speaking very adamantly on something, with Redstar only gazing at him with an unknown glint in his eyes.

"Weird, hares almost never wander over into the forest..." Another unknown voice was heard behind him, and Whitekit turned around to see Ocelotpaw with his mentor, Pantherpelt. While the apprentice seemed just as curious as him, Pantherpelt simply shook his head. Pantherpelt was Redstar's brother, larger in size, with lighter amber eyes as opposed to Redstar's dark gaze. "I guess a family burrowed themselves on our side of the plain border." The mentor simply stated, which seemed to answer Ocelotpaw's thought. The plain border was the border between Darkclan and Swiftclan, which was indicated with the last tree on that side of the forest being much taller and thicker than the rest of the trees, to which ahead there was nothing but moorland. Soon, lots of conversations began around the camp, some thinking the same as Ocelotpaw, but most were more curious on the patrol's wounds. Dogface and Rainstorm, an elder, were clearly angry about the injuries, lots of hissing being heard in their direction. Blackpaw and Amberpaw whispered to each other near the apprentice den, and while Whitekit couldn't hear what they were saying, he could read their lips saying "Swiftclan" a lot. Were they responsible? Swiftclan and Darkclan didn't have any grudges, neither finding reason to attack each other, which mice and squirrels being plentiful in the forest, while in the moors, you could hardly take a few steps without tripping over a rabbit. Their leader, Mountainstar, from what the warriors told him, was a cat of peace, never engaging in battle, even in some times where it was necessary. Plus if Pantherpelt's theory was true, Swiftclan would have had no reason to attack them, with the rabbits being found on the side of the forest.

Having enough of thinking theories in his mind of the situation, Whitekit ignored the medicine cat's statement and stepped forward towards the group who were getting treated with cobwebs to cover their wounds and stop the bleeding, as well as poultices with marigold and horsetail. Once the kit was closer, he could better make out Fiercespirit's words. "…then Elkheart ordered her cats to attack, you could have sworn she had the entire clan with her, a dozen and more cats sprung out and attacked us. I… ordered for us to retreat and take the prey, though as you can see, we didn't come out unharmed." The patrol leader spoke to his father, to which he only looked on with little emotion in his gaze. Whitekit bristled up angrily at the thought of his own clanmates being outnumbered and attacked like that, and he opened his mouth to speak his fury, to which his mouth was covered by a tail. While not the same tail as the medicine cat's who kept him from walking up to listen in the first place, this one was fluffier, causing Whitekit to gag and spit out some fur. "Save your breath, I'm sure Redstar is thinking the exact same thing you were about to say." A masculine voice hushed him, even heavier than Fiercespirit's. Whitekit found himself looking upwards once again to see a bright ginger tom with fluffy, mane-like neck and chest fur. Duckthroat! He's the deputy! "This is something that won't be tolerated, trust me. But your input is not needed in this situation. Go play with the other kits, you've been hanging with Redstar for too long." With that, the bulky cat stepped forward and whispered something to the black furred leader, not letting the kit voice his protests straight to him. While Whitekit wanted to be angry and argue with Duckthroat, he was the deputy and his orders also applied to kits, and he had to follow them.

With that, Whitekit reluctantly walked away, towards the nursery where Brownfur and her kits were watching the ordeal from a distance. "Hey Whitekit! Is Lilyfur your mother or is Redstar?" Cactuskit obnoxiously teased the white kit, who was very tempted to give the spiky tom a smack on the nose for the comment. There was some truth to it though, kits usually stayed with their mothers most of their kithood and sleep in the nursery, though Whitekit spent most of his time talking and walking with Redstar and sleeping in his den. Though just as Whitekit was about to retaliate verbally, it seemed Oakkit beat him to it, the light brown tom with a light push to her brother's muzzle. "I wouldn't talk Cactuskit! I see you sneaking out during the night to hang out with Amberpaw!" The sibling teased in his denmate's defense, in which Cactuskit shut his mouth and looked down at his paws, very flushed. Whitekit could hardly hold back laughter at the comment, the prickly kit didn't try his best to hide his affection of the pretty apprentice, often seen gazing at her intently whenever she is within sight of him. Two mousebrains in love? A perfect match! He was tempted to speak his thought out loud, but he didn't want to beat up too much on the tom. He was a nice cat, it just seemed hanging out and swooning over Amberpaw made him mimic her attitude at times. "Hush. Redstar is about to speak." Brownfur shushed the kits, which caused Whitekit to turn around and see the leader perked up on his den, where he made most of his announcements. "Darkclan, gather!" His father's voice rung throughout the camp, and all whispers in the clan stopped immediately, with each cat slowly seating themselves in the center of camp. Whitekit wanted to go over and stand with Redstar as he made the announcement, but his angered look let him know that now wasn't the time for such things. So, he followed Brownfur as she and her kits found themselves seated near the edge of camp.

"You think we are going to attack Swiftclan?" Oakkit mumbled to Whitekit, who nodded. "We should! Coming into our territory and attacking our clanmates? I'd skin Elkheart's pelt myself!" Cactuskit voiced his agreement, dragging his claws along the hot earth, bristled tail swishing back and forth on the ground. "What about Lakepaw?" Peachkit, a soft furred she-cat spoke up with a worried look on her face. Lakepaw, about three moons ago was the oldest apprentice in the clan, so close to becoming a warrior when a fox killed her on patrol, along giving Dogface one of his many scars on his flank. Maybe we shouldn't risk more clanmates. Whitekit thought to himself solemnly, battle now seeming like a bad option. "Lakepaw was an unfortunate accident, but Darkclan is still strong. We can't roll over and let Swiftclan attack us whenever they wish." Burrclaw, one of the wounded warriors in the hunting patrol, stated with anger. While a senior warrior, Burrclaw had a pretty nasty reputation of being aggressive and quick to jump into battle. "A leaf could look at her the wrong way and she'd shred it." Oakkit whispered to Whitekit, who let out a small purr of amusement. Though once Redstar began to speak once again, he made sure to sit up straight and keep his mouth shut. "Today, a patrol of warriors were attacked by Swiftclan! We will not allow them to get away with this!" He announced with fury in his voice, Whitekit being able to see his long claws digging into the stone he was standing on. "Tomorrow at dawn, we will have an ambush ready for their dawn patrol! Dogface will be the head of the ambush party, he may choice those who go with him." With the plan unraveled for the clan to hear, Whitekit felt his heart beat in both excitement and fear. An ambush? But that's cowardly! The kit protested in his mind, the fur along his back bristling. "Tomorrow, we will get our revenge!"


	4. Chapter 3

"We will get our revenge…" Whitekit repeated to himself as he looked around the clan to see their reactions to the announcement. Dogface and Burrclaw were clearly pleased with the decision to attack back, their eyes glinting with glee. How far would they go to get their revenge…? The kit thought with a knot in his stomach, imagining the two senior warriors jumping out of the shadows to attack some unsuspecting cats. There were other cats happy with the announcement, like Fiercespirit and Rainstorm, but it seemed other cats shared Whitekit's reluctance on the ambush. Pantherpelt and Dawnsight had frowns on their faces and their gaze looking away from their leader, even Duckthroat, the deputy, didn't know how to react to the news, though his look told him that he knew of the announcement before Redstar told the clan. "Dogface, come up to the leader's den and tell us who will join you at dawn." Duckthroat told the scarred warrior, who took long, proud strides on his way to climb the earth that led to where Redstar was standing, the deputy on a stone lower next to the den. "Thank you Redstar, I won't disappoint you." Dogface first thanked his leader, bowing his head before holding it up high. "Burrclaw, Fiercespirit, Firefrog, Sunsight and Blackpaw will be with me as we teach those rabbit munchers not to mess with us!" The warrior said loudly to the clan below him, his crackly voice ringing throughout the camp. "And Redstar if I may…" Dogface then stated, waiting until the leader nodded his head to let him continue. "…Just in case Swiftclan has reinforcements come, I think having a second patrol would be good so we aren't outnumbered." Dogface then stated his idea, in which to Whitekit's surprise, Redstar only nodded his head in agreement and looked over to his deputy. "That is indeed a good plan, Duckthroat will lead that patrol. He may bring Fernheart, Pantherpelt and Ocelotpaw with him for the second patrol." The leader gave the order with assertion, Duckthroat simply gave a flick of his ear in acknowledgement, stepping down off of his stone and calling his three ordered companions aside to what Whitekit assumed to discuss tactics.

"Clan dismissed." Redstar then stated, before flicking his tail towards Dogface to follow him into his den. "Wowie… that's a lot of cats for a simple dawn patrol." Whitekit could hear Blazepaw, the youngest of the apprentices say to her mentor, Sunsight. "Be careful please." She pressed herself against her mentor's side, who only nodded his head and give his apprentice a lick on the ear. Everyone then started to disband from the crowd, Brownfur taking her kits back into the nursery. "You are pretty cool Whitekit. You should hang out with us more." Oakkit told the stunned denmate before jogging back towards his mother. "Uh... I will!" Whitekit yelled after him, before finding himself alone in the edge of the clearing. Hopefully there are no deaths… He couldn't help but think, looking up towards the sky starting to turn dark. "There you are!" Whitekit jumped at the sudden noise in the mostly quiet camp and turned his head to see his mother padding towards him. "Seems like forever since I've seen you." She said, her tone happy, seeming to be unaffected by the news just given to the clan. "Well I was with-" Whitekit began to defend himself before a tongue to his head interrupted him. "Brownfur and her kits, I know. I meant more you staying away from the nursery and such." Lilyfur stated, using her tongue to flatten the bristled furs on her kit's back. "Since Redstar will be talking with the cats of the patrol, how about you sleep with me in the nursery?" She then asked, in which he nodded and walked with her in the direction towards the nursery. Lilyfur made sure the nest was nice and comfy before laying down, leaving room for Whitekit to nuzzle against her belly. "Don't worry little one, no one will get hurt… that bad." His mother whispered to him with a small purr, continuing to groom his uneasy fur, in which he just nodded and shut his eyes, his mother's relaxing purrs slowly drifted him to sleep.

As Whitekit was sleeping, he suddenly opened his eyes to find himself alone in the nursery, the warm body of his mother's gone. Shaking his head to get rid some of his drowsiness, the kit stood up and walked outside the den, only to find no sun to greet him. There was only night sky, the stars shining throughout the dark sky. Where is everyone? He thought to himself, looking around, the camp entirely silent, even his pawsteps making no noise on the earth. "H..Hello?" Whitekit called out, hoping to hear any voice respond, but nothing. He began to walk around the empty camp, fur bristling and a knot beginning to tie in his stomach. Did Swiftclan do this? He couldn't help but think. Maybe their ambush went wrong and Swiftclan retaliated back by attacking the camp. How would I have slept through that? Suddenly, Whitekit saw a paw flying towards him in a swipe, claws outstretched, ready to kill. He could only yelp in reaction as the paw disappeared as it only gave him a slap, the claws seeming to not affect him. Staggering some from the smack, he then saw a cat's head above him, red eyes glowing with hatred and teeth rushing towards the kit. Whitekit felt himself stuck in place, only able to watch the jaws come at him, ready to snap and crush the tiny thing in front of it. Only when the teeth were about to bite, the kit could recognize the cat's burning amber eyes about to kill him. Redstar! Suddenly, just as the jaws were ready to clamp down onto him, Whitekit found himself stirring up against his mother's belly, back within the nursery. A dream… He thought to himself, still shaking scared of what he saw. Why..? Whitekit thought to himself, shaking his head to try and clear the memories of the horrible dream from his mind. Maybe the mouse I had was bad.. He tried to answer the reason for his nightmare, clinging to the idea of some bad freshkill being the reason as he couldn't find himself getting back to sleep.

Standing up, Whitekit quietly wandered outside the nursery, letting out a sigh of relief as he spotted Amberpaw and Blazepaw keeping watch of the camp as the sun began to turn the sky a pale blue. "Dawn.." Whitekit thought out loud, seeing Dogface and Burrclaw walk over to the fresh-kill pile and picking up a raven and a squirrel respectively. Getting ready for the ambush… Whitekit told himself, hunger being his last concern at the moment, so he started to pace around camp, trying to get his mind off of his dream. "You nervous too?" A sudden voice interrupted him and he turned his head to see Blackpaw, ears flattened and grass green eyes glinting with fear. "A bit." Whitekit simply replied, unsure of the apprentice's intentions. After all, he was usually very headstrong and made sure everyone around him knew just so great he was, but the cat in front of him seemed to be the complete opposite. He looked scared, always looking to the ground and his body shaking, like a frightened kit. "Yeah, you are lucky you aren't going to be in the fight… what if things go wrong and we end up losing someone or more? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." Blackpaw said with a nervous chuckle, sitting himself down as he gazed up into the sky, taking a deep breath. Whitekit, without thinking, placed one of his tiny paws atop Blackpaw's larger, darker paw. The apprentice however flinched away and pulled his paw back, clearly flushed at letting out as much as he did. "Uh well, I'm going to see Burrclaw, I know she'll get me motivated." Blackpaw awkwardly excused himself from the kit, quickly pacing himself over to his mentor who was munching on her squirrel.

He's not so bad… Whitekit thought to himself with a small purr, before seeing Redstar emerge from his den. His thoughts immediately went back to his haunting dream, where his father had attacked him like a ghost. Why him though? Whitekit tried to think, but he soon realized the leader was walking towards him. "Hey there, Whitekit. Don't be too envious, the ambush will just be a quick tooth and claw to some unsuspecting warriors. Will be over before you could say 'mouse'." His father assured him confidently, patting his son's head with a heavy paw. The kit didn't have the heart to tell his dad that he wasn't excited for the ambush at all, letting out a half-hearted grunt. "I guess." He said with a shrug, before spotting Dogface walking over to the two. "I have spoken with everyone, they are ready. We should hurry, Swiftclan are early-birds." The scarred warrior told Redstar, who only nodded and called over those in the patrol for the attack. "Make sure they regret crossing us." The leader growled quietly to Dogface, who walked off without any response, the rest of the patrol following behind. Soon enough, Duckthroat with Fernheart, Pantherpelt and Ocelotpaw followed not long after, Whitekit swearing he saw the deputy give his father a cross look as he passed by. "Well then, want me to show you some more battle moves? You are getting close to 6 moons, so you'll be an apprentice soon. The more knowledge you have going into it, the sooner you become a warrior." Redstar then asked his son, who hesitated in answering. Usually Whitekit loved to learn battle moves, but now with his dream and his newfound reluctance to enjoy the prospect of battle, the kit simply shook his head. "I…" He tried to think up an excuse, before spotting Oakkit and Cactuskit exit the nursery. "…was actually to hang out with Oakkit and Cactuskit… if that's ok?" He then quickly stated to try and make up for his silence. His father stared down at him with a half-suspicious glare, before nodding. "Very well, it's good to know your fellow clanmates." He stated, then walking away to the fresh-kill pile.

Whitekit then quickly rushed over to the two other kits who were chatting up a storm, as to not appear to be lying to Redstar. "...Are you sure?" Oakkit asked his brother nervously, in which the spiky kit confidently nodded. "Yeah! We are going to be apprentices soon anyway, what better way to learn then to watch a real fight for yourself?" Cactuskit exclaimed, before looking at his denmate approaching and letting out a fake cough. "…Yeah, mossball sounds fun." He tried to play off his previous statement, in which his acting couldn't fool a shrew. Whitekit only sighed and looked at Oakkit, "Are you two seriously about to go out there and watch the fight?" He asked, and Oakkit hesitated in answering, before sighing and nodding. "This goofball needs someone to look after him, since he's going to go out there no matter what. At least with me he'll at least not wander off… for too long." The brown kit finally stated, hanging his head low. "No one will miss us! Russetfox will be too busy keeping watch and Redstar almost never comes into the nursery. Brownfur and Lilyfur will think we are just playing some game out of sight or with the elders." Cactuskit tried to assure his brother, who just shrugged in response. Admittedly, Cactuskit had a point. The only warrior in camp would be tasked with taking watch, Redstar would probably go out hunting, and the two queens were never too attached to their kits to try and keep an eye on them all day. And the chance to witness a battle firsthand would be both really cool and informative on tactics in fights. "I'll go with you two." Whitekit suddenly blurted out, in which both kits gave him a surprised look. "Uh… Redstar let me explore some of the territory with him, including the plain border. I'd know where exactly to go!" He then exclaimed to try and convince the two to let him come with them. "Well, it's up to you Oakkit, I couldn't really care who comes with us." Cactuskit told his brother, who was in thought for some moments before nodding. "A guide would be good." He simply stated, in which Whitekit purred and shoulder-bumped his denmate. "Cool. Now I was thinking we go out the dirtplace, there we go around the camp and towards where the patrol went. Whitekit will help lead us there quicker." The black kit explained, and his companions nodded to the idea.

Waiting until they were out of sight, the three then headed towards the dirtplace and, covering their mouths and noses, they found a weak patch of leaves to break through to get outside of camp. "Alright, Mister Guide, lead the way." Cactuskit sarcastically told Whitekit, who let out a small chuckle before curving around the camp and beginning on the path to the plain border. It wasn't very difficult, the two patrols' scents were fresh, and so they could just follow that. "Shouldn't be far, the forest isn't that big on this side." Whitekit explained to his two friends as they walked to the side of the path the patrols used to get to the border, not wanting to be spotted if they caught up to them. The smell of newleaf leaves and some small scents of mice filled the kits' nostrils, with all the trees and their newly grown leaves, along with the bright blue sky peeking through the trees, it was hard not to get lost in the scenery of the forest, along with following the scent of a random squirrel. "…So who do you two think will be your mentors?" Cactuskit suddenly asked, giving Whitekit a small scare as the three were in silence for some time. "Uh. Probably Russetfox. Brownfur also says I'm the fastest out of all of us, so someone like her who is an expert hunter would be a good fit, I think." Oakkit answered, looking around the many bulky brown trunks. Whitekit took longer to answer, never really thinking of a mentor until Cactuskit brought it up. "Umm… maybe Firefrog. He's pretty good at everything, plus he's nice, so he would be cool." He finally answered, recalling the image of the young ginger warrior. He, along with Russetfox, were the youngest of the warriors, but at their young age, they already had the skillsets of warriors far older than them. So it wouldn't be long until they had a few apprentices under their wing. "I'd love Dogface! I want to be the best warrior in Darkclan!" Cactuskit then stated, hopping at "Darkclan". "Maybe he'd teach you how to use your spiky fur as a weapon!" Oakkit teased his brother, giving him a playful smack with his tail. The burr furred kit then bumped his spiky side up against his brother in response, causing the two to slow down. "Who says I can't do it now?" He said playfully, getting into a crotch, ready to pounce. "Shush! I think we are here." Whitekit pointed out to the two behind him, pointing with his tail towards the open plain ahead of them. Just like he was told, there was the tallest tree in the forest as the last oak before seemingly endless moorland.

"Where do we hide?" Cactuskit asked, "I want to get a good view of the fight!" Whitekit grunted, trying to see if he could find out where the patrols had hid. Where they were, there were few trees, but many berry bushes, anyone of which being great hiding spots. The question was, where did the patrol hide themselves? "How about the big tree?" Oakkit suddenly suggested, pointing with his paw at the thick redwood tree that marked the border between Swiftclan and Darkclan. "The patrols will be too busy fighting to look over there, and we would get the best possible view so close by." Getting impatient, Cactuskit nodded and began jogging over there, Oakkit right behind him. "Ah, wait…" Whitekit hissed quietly, not wanting to signal to Dogface the kits had followed them, but finding little choice but to hurry after them. The long dark grass soon started turning shorter and lighter, and the cover of the forest no longer hid the three as they found themselves at the base of the huge oak. "Now what?" Oakkit asked, in which Whitekit hissed once again, crotched down and peeking out the side of the tree, the other two kits joining him. It wasn't long before a patrol of Swiftclan cats came into sight, right along the border. Having never seen a Swiftclan cat before, Whitekit was surprised to see just how slim and long-legged they were, like the legendry Cheetah cats of long ago. "They look weird." Cactuskit remarked, and Oakkit gave him a quiet grunt to get him to remain quiet. At the head of the patrol was a pale warrior, taller than the rest of her patrol, with eyes that matched the sky. "That must be Elkheart, Fiercespirit told me about her yesterday." Oakkit whispered, Whitekit nodding. Alongside her were three other cats, a bulky gray she-cat the complete opposite of the elegant, skinny cat that the warriors told the kits, a dark brown tom, and a spotted she-cat with a weird looking tail. "Uh… Steelfur, Groundpaw…. And Eelpaw…" Oakkit listed the three other cats, once again stating Fiercespirit as his source of the knowledge. The two warriors and their apprentices went along their business in marking their side of the territory, starting to get closer to the redwood tree that the kits were hiding behind. A growing nervousness began to build inside Whitekit as he could better and better see the features of the four Swiftclan cats as they now weren't far from where he was. "Where's the ambush…" Cactuskit whispered, shrinking down his body as if to try and hide himself better, but his spiky black fur stood out like a rose in a thorn bush. "Hey Elkheart, I think I see something!" Groundpaw, the brown tom called out to his mentor, eyes locked onto the large tree and the little burrball that was sticking out beside it.

The four cats of the Swiftclan patrol then had their attention set on the redwood, curious as to what the apprentice had found. "What do we do?" Oakkit whispered, voice desperate as his small body shook. Suddenly, a mighty roar rang throughout the clearing, and now Whitekit could see the muscled bodies of his clanmates jump out of the bushes so close to the kits. "Darkclan, attack!"


	5. Chapter 4

"What?!" Elkheart shrieked out in surprise as Dogface sprang into action, pinning down the closest cat near him, which was Groundpaw. Soon the remaining three cats of the patrol were locked into battle, Steelfur battling both Sunsight and Firefrog, Elkheart locked into a massive ball of fur and claws with Fiercespirit, and Burrclaw staring down Eelpaw. "What's wrong little kitty? You scared?" The brown tabby growled aggressively at the apprentice, who only flinched at the harsh tone of the opposing cat's voice. Eelpaw was clearly the youngest cat of the patrol, and seemed only a bit bigger than the three kits watching the battle. "She's probably 6 moons still…" Whitekit whispered to his friends, Oakkit and Cactuskit, as the terrified apprentice found herself retreating from the enemy after a nasty staredown by Burrclaw. "Haha, look at 'er run! Is this what you teach your apprentices, Elkheart?!" Burrclaw mocked the deputy, before jumping onto her back and biting down on her shoulder, causing the long-bodied warrior to yell in pain. Fiercespirit who was on the losing end of his conflict with Elkheart, took advantage of the newfound edge over his opponent, using a huge hindpaw to kick the deputy in the jaw, knocking her away and onto the short grass. "Ooh, that sounded like a bone breaking!" Fiercespirit hissed proudly, shaking his back paw after the kick.

Whitekit started to feel sick after hearing the warrior's taunt, seeing how bravely the deputy stood her ground against the two warriors while clearly outmatched. Just run… He just barely kept inside his head and not yelled out for the Swiftclan's cat sake. Meanwhile Steelfur had Sunsight pinned down on his back, Firefrog missing from when the kit last saw him. Groundpaw was surprisingly holding his own against the huge, scarred warrior in Dogface, giving him a few nasty cuts along his muzzle and chest. Blackpaw, who was missing from the fight before, jumped into assist Sunsight, landing on the back of the much larger cat in Steelfur and using his teeth to pull her just enough for Sunsight to escape the fight with a gash along his back. Burrclaw then ran in to help her apprentice, like a hawk soaring through the air, she sprung and slammed her body against Steelfur's hind-leg, causing her to crumple and for Blackpaw to fully tug her to the ground. "Nasty Darkclan slime!" The warrior yowled at Burrclaw, smacking the tabby with a strong forepaw and giving Blackpaw a bite on his ear. With a vicious tug, the apprentice let out a howl of pain as his ear now had a nasty V-shaped scar down the center of it, causing him to retreat while whispering swears. Elkheart was still contesting against Fiercespirit, giving him some cuts along his face, though she was definitely worst off. Her jaw had an awkward curve to it, and her once smooth pale fur was spiky and washed in blood. Groundpaw had continued to hold his own against Dogface, expertly dodging some slashes and delivering some of his own, almost making the warrior look like a chump. Out of frustration and a missed slash from the apprentice caused the warrior to slam his paw down atop his head and onto the grassy ground before them. With a thrust of his head, his sharp teeth found the back of Groundpaw's neck in a hard bite, the apprentice's cry of pain muffled by the grass.

No! Whitekit screamed in his head, needing Cactuskit's body blocking him off to stop him from racing into the battlefield and stopping Dogface's attempts at killing the apprentice. Groundpaw continued to squirm and panic against the floor, a cloud of dust coming up from his claws digging and trashing against the ground. However a loud howl rung through the air and Whitekit could see a patrol of cats charging forwards towards the ambushed patrol, Eelpaw among them. She must've gotten a hunting patrol. Whitekit thought to himself, the stampede of incoming angry cats causing Dogface to release his death-hold on the apprentice. "Darkclan, retreat!" Dogface called out to his remaining partners, in which Burrclaw hissed in outrage, but a stern look and the many thuds against the ground caused her to follow the orders and run into the forest along with Fiercespirit. "Remember this day, Swiftclan! Don't you ever cross Darkclan again!" The beat-up warrior growled at the incoming patrol of Swiftclan cats, before rushing into the forest along with other two comrades. What was left behind was the wounded cats receiving the ambush. Elkheart was lying on her back, staring blankly into the sky, Steelfur was licking her wounds along her flank and back, and Groundpaw was twitching on the ground, scarlet red blood staining his fur. "We should go…" Oakkit whispered to his friends, and received no resistance as the three fled just as the 2nd patrol was beginning to inspect the wounded. Is Groundpaw dead…? Whitekit couldn't help but think, his mind blurring with thoughts of remorse and sorrow for the hurt Swiftclan cats. He knows he should feel good for his clan defeating another, but all he felt was nausea at the sight of the victory.

Thankfully for them, the kits had made it back as the bloody and battered cats of the ambush were starting to get medical help from Dawnsight and Glasspaw, his apprentice. Firefrog turned out to retreat from the battle with a scar along his chin and muzzle, Blackpaw was struggling not to whimper in pain as his cut ear was getting tended to, Sunsight was receiving help from Russetfox as she helped clean up his bloody back, Fiercespirit was whispering dirty words as some cuts along his stomach and flank were looked at, and finally Dogface and Burrclaw were arguing with each other, both very adamant at their cause. "Did we win?" A sudden voice asked Whitekit and he turned away from the crowd to see Clawkit, a brown and black tom of Brownfur's litter. He must've have known of the three's decision to head out and see the battle, since he was Oakkit's and Cactuskit's brother. "Uh… yeah." Whitekit reluctantly answered his denmate's question, before walking towards the wounded warriors, wanting to listen to Dogface's and Burrclaw's argument. "We had the second patrol, we could've fought them!" Burrclaw growled right in Dogface's… face, "I was made head of the patrol, you better listen to me without question!" in which the tom responded in an equally vicious growl. Burrclaw only scoffed and turned her back to the tom, "I don't listen to cowards!" And with that, the argument ended and the she-cat walked in the direction of Redstar, who was watching everything with intent, curious eyes. "About time you had your annual argument with Dogface, I thought you would miss this moon." The leader surprisingly teased the pissed off warrior, who simply shook her head. "He keeps giving me reasons to argue with him, not my fault he's a dirthead." Burrclaw cursed, sitting next to the black tom and looking at the other warriors. "We were winning the fight and we sent a good message, but we should've sent a bigger one. Fiercespirit was ready to tear open Elkheart when that coward called the retreat." She insisted, hissing when flicking her ear towards Dogface who was getting his chest and neck examined by Glasspaw. Redstar simply purred and bumped the tabby's shoulder, "By what Fiercespirit had told me, you already sent a good enough message. Elkheart has a broken jaw and one of their apprentices is potentially dead. If Mountainstar has as good as a head on his shoulders I think he does, he won't risk more lives." The leader so casually spoke of the ordeal, Burrclaw letting out a small purr and shrugging.

Are all warriors so… unaffected by battle? Whitekit thought to himself in disgust, feeling sick after witnessing the bloody battle, let alone ever being one himself. "Lots of hurt cats, right?" The masculine voice caused Whitekit to look up and see Pantherpelt standing next to him, looking grim. "Welcome to Darkclan." His voice dripped with sorrow, but the kit decided to not pry much into it as the tabby warrior stepped forward and exchanged a few words with Firefrog. Afterwards, the ginger warrior was given a nod from Dawnsight and he walked away from the group, picking up a crow from the fresh-kill pile and heading into the warriors' den, assumedly for some well-deserved rest. Blackpaw was another cat exiting the group of cats receiving medical attention, looking both sad and angry. He grabbed a plump mouse from the FKP, dragging it far away from everyone else in the camp and began munching on it. Whitekit's mind drifted back to the battle where the apprentice had hopped on the back of a much larger, stronger warrior in Steelfur, saving Sunsight from more nasty scars and potentially worse. Despite his early words of nervousness before the battle, he looked brave and just like any other warrior with his spirit and will to help his own in it. Slowly, the kit wandered towards where Blackpaw had laid himself down, shaded by an overhead tree, though his green eyes showed his shame. "Here to tease me about the scar? Let me tell you, it's not funny and if you say anything about it, I'll give you one to match." The black and gray tom growled at the incoming kit, who flinched at the strong words. "No no… I'm here to say… I'm proud." Whitekit let out, starting to step back towards the apprentice while speaking. "Well, not proud… but happy. You told me you were scared of the whole thing, but…" He knew he couldn't let out too much, otherwise he would know the kit was there watching when kits weren't allowed outside the camp without a warrior to accompany them. But the look of distress on Blackpaw's face outweighed any possible consequences of punishment, so he opened his mouth once more, "…I saw, and you were very brave, saving Sunsight like that. You gave a good cut on Steelfur's back, she was really licking it afterwards. I could've sworn you were a warrior in that battle, just… don't tell anyone I was there." Whitekit finally told the apprentice, who's look of shame turned to surprise and curiosity. Though after some awkward moments of silence, Whitekit was ready to walk away until Blackpaw finally responded. "Thanks… I'll keep your secret." He simply stated, once again biting down on his mouse. Whitekit took that as the right time to leave, giving the apprentice a small nod before padding away.

The next few days were rather calm in contrast to the day of the ambush, everyone's wounds healing well, though Blackpaw's ear would remain with its scar and Dogface had yet another scar along his flank to add to the several others he had on his body. It was when Redstar had called everyone for a meeting things started to pick up. "On this day forward, Blackpaw, you will be known as Blackcloud. Starclans honors your bravery and spirit. Amberpaw, you will now be known as Amberleaf, Starclan honors your quick wit and your compassion. May you both serve your clan for the rest of your days." Redstar announced the two new warriors to the clan, where they started to chant their new names in celebration. "Blackcloud! Amberleaf! Blackcloud! Amberleaf!" Redstar let the yowls settle down before speaking again, redirecting his gaze towards the nursery where Brownfur and Lilyfur had their kits. "I think it's about time we emptied the nursery, kits, will you step forward?" He called out. Whitekit let out a gasp, eyes wide as the clan turned over to him. He wasn't 6 moons yet, he couldn't be an apprentice yet! "What about Whitekit? He isn't 6 moons!" The kit could hear Pantherpelt say exactly what the kit was thinking, in which Redstar snarled at his brother. "With our attack on Swiftclan, they could retaliate at any moment, we need as many fighting paws as we need. Plus I've seen for myself what Whitekit is capable of, he deserves to be an apprentice just as much as Brownfur's litter, maybe even more!" Redstar explained, which calmed the protests of the clan. "Now, kits, come up here please." Whitekit reluctantly walked up towards the leader's den, Brownfur's litter much quicker in their clumsy climbing of the camp and getting on top of the den. While he was walking past, the kit could hear the whispers among the clan. "Talk about bias..." Sunsight whispered to Firefrog as he passed, "Because a kit will help us fight…" Fiercespirit grunted to Pantherpelt, who simply shook his head and looked on. Whitekit soon enough made it up to the leader's den, next to his denmates.

"Kits, you have reached the time where you will become apprentices. Cactuskit, you will now be known as Cactuspaw." Redstar first announced, in which Cactuspaw could barely hold in a leap of excitement. "Your mentor will be Firefrog. Firefrog has shown incredible ability in both hunting and in battle, I expect him to pass on those skills to you so you may be just as fine a warrior as him." With that, Cactuspaw ran over to his new mentor and touched noses with him, nearly knocking over the ginger tabby in his excitement. "Peachkit, you will now be known as Peachpaw. Russetfox, while young, has shown great ability in speed and tactical thinking. I expect that to be taught onto you." Redstar then assigned the only she-cat of the 5 kits to the young warrior, who walked over and touched noses to her. "Oakkit, you will now be known as Oakpaw. Your mentor shall be Fiercespirit. Normally kin does not mentor kin, but Fiercespirit is as ready as anyone else to have an apprentice. I expect Fiercespirit to pass on his knowledge of battle and bravery to you." Oakpaw nodded and walked over to his father, touching noses with him. "Clawkit, you will now be known as Clawpaw. I shall be your mentor. I will be sure to make you a powerful warrior." Redstar then announced, to the clan's surprise. A leader is almost never a mentor, as their duties usually meant there was little time to train, but maybe Redstar saw something special in Clawpaw and wanted to help let it out. "Finally, Whitekit, my son, you will now be known as Whitepaw. Dogface will now be your mentor. As you may tell from his scars, he is an experienced battler, along with great knowledge of hunting. I expect him to pass on those abilities to you."

Whitepaw nodded and stepped down to face to his new mentor, in which he was met with a cold glare. "Oh I'll make you a good warrior alright." The warrior stated before quickly touching noses with the confused apprentice. "Finally, before you all go, I will announce those who shall come with me and Duckthroat to the gathering." The gathering! Whitepaw had completely forgotten about the moonly gathering, where all four clans met in peace to share clan news and interact between each other. The leader was able to choose who came with them, along with the deputy, medicine cat and their apprentice. It was an honor to go to one, but kits and queens could not go, which is why he hasn't gone to one yet. "Those who will come are Dogface, Blackcloud, Amberleaf, Smoothstep, Fiercespirit, Clawpaw, Oakpaw and Whitepaw." Redstar announced, looking intently at the reactions of the clan, to which there were only a few excited whispers from Oakpaw to his father and Sunsight once again showing his displeasure with a quick shake of his head. "Remember, we go at moonrise, make sure you have eaten and stretched your legs out. Clan dismissed." With that, the black tom hopped down from his den and called over Sunsight. The two then went into the leader's den and Whitepaw was curious as to what the two were going to talk about when Dogface stopped him. "Hey now, you are an apprentice. Which means you can't spend your time with Redstar all day. Since you are going to the gathering soon, I'm going to let you off for today from training. Get to know your denmates, maybe they can teach you a few hunting or battle moves. Just… stay away from Redstar until it's time to go to the gathering." The ugly warrior hissed sternly at Whitepaw, who was about to protest when his mentor bared his teeth. "Do you forget who your mentor is already? You listen to what I say, when I say it. Now go." Dogface then walked away, whispering some unknown words to Burrclaw who was watching nearby, before padding off with her.

Well he's a lot meaner than I thought. Whitepaw thought a bit sadly, if that what his mentor is going to be like for his apprenticeship, then maybe he wouldn't think so fondly of honing his craft. Shaking his head clear of his mentor, he reluctantly walked away from Redstar's den, where he could make out his father speaking rather sternly to Sunsight. "Hey Whitepaw!" Ocelotpaw's voice was the first to greet him at the apprentice den, soon along with Blazepaw. "Don't worry about nasty Dogface, he's just in a bad mood because he fell on his face when we were out on a hunting patrol." The spotted apprentice reassured him, welcoming the newcomer inside the den and showing Whitepaw a neatly laid nest, huge oak leaves and grass on the inside with some vines to tie everything together. "Me and Ocelotpaw made it for you, for all the new apprentices." Blazepaw pointed out, four other identical nests littered through the den. "But it's your problem now, don't cry to us if it's not comfy enough." Ocelotpaw then purred playfully, wandering outside to speak to the waiting Pantherpelt. Whitepaw then meowed his thanks to Blazepaw, stepping into the nest and laying himself down. Soon, the tom closed his eyes, ready to let sleep overtake him as he thought about the night. Just what would happen at the gathering? Would Swiftclan attack them?


	6. Chapter 5

"Everyone ready?" Redstar's voice woke Whitepaw from his thoughts, and he quickly shook his pelt clean of dust as he stood up and ran over to the group of cats going to the gathering. After examining the crowd, the black tom then walked out of camp. Whitepaw quickly found himself next to Clawpaw and Oakpaw, who were talking about their mentors. "You think Dad will be soft on me because I'm his son?" Oakpaw was asking his brother who let out a small mrrow of laughter, "Do you even know our Dad? If anything, he will give you a harder time because you are his son!" Clawpaw responded, before eyeing Whitepaw. "So you got nasty ol' Dogface, huh? Try not to get too many scars on your pelt!" The denmate teased, with Whitepaw simply shaking his head. He had hoped to get someone like Firefrog or Russetfox as his mentor, they were both nice, young warriors who wouldn't have been so hard on him, but instead he got the nasty Dogface, who was the crudest cat in the forests. There was a reason he got all of his scars, it was because he got into more fights than anyone else. Before Redstar's rule, there was a she-cat who ruled Darkclan named Eaglestar, she was siblings with Dogface. The previous leader was lenient on her brother's actions, though nearing the end of her leadership she had begun to punish her kin for his constant battles with the other clans. It had started many battles between the other clans and Darkclan before, and Redstar had told him that Eaglestar's 'friend', who just happened to be a handsome tom, had died in one of the battles. It took Redgaze, Whitepaw's father's warrior name, to convince his leader not to exile her brother from the clan afterwards. Eaglestar soon passed away herself when a rabid dog had killed her on patrol, ripping all of her Starclan-given lives from her with its vicious jaws and teeth. Redstar says he still remembers fondly of the she-cat, who had made him her deputy and acted as a big sister of sorts to him.

A soft push to his shoulder caused Whitepaw to reenter the present, seemingly too immersed in his thoughts to focus on the grassy path he was walking on towards the gathering. It seemed he had fallen behind the other cats thanks to his thoughts, the pelt of a dark blue-gray tabby beside him. He was about to call the unknown cat Pantherpelt when he realized that the tom wasn't in the gathering group. Which would only leave… "Smoothstep! Uh, hi." Whitepaw respectfully meowed to the elder, who purred softly. Smoothstep was the father of Pantherpelt and Redstar, the oldest cat in the clan and one of the most decorated warriors in Darkclan history to not be named a deputy or leader. "Hey little guy. What were you thinking about?" Smoothstep's soft but crackily voice spoke, the elder's soft blue eyes reassuring any embarrassment Whitepaw had. "Oh, I was just thinking about Eaglestar. Redstar speaks so fondly of her." The apprentice responded, deciding to stay back with the elder, who was lagging behind everyone else, and he looked like he could use company. "Ah Eaglestar… a real cat of bravery and heart. You know why Redstar thinks so greatly of her? He had a crush on her when they were both warriors." Smoothstep told his grandson, chuckling at his own words. "Oh he got so angry at me whenever I would even hint at the fact. When she had passed away, Redgaze… or Redstar as you know him now, he was distraught. Talltree practically had to drag him to the Starcave in order to get his nine lives." Whitepaw listened intently to the elder, always liking to hear stories from the elders. It made him wish he was able to witness all the glorious stories they told for himself. "But… look at him now. A… true leader." Smoothstep spoke of his son with a purr, eyes glittering with his happiness for his kin. "And he even made you, a strapping young tom ready to take on the world." His last statement made Whitepaw's pelt hot with embarrassment at the compliment, though that's just what elders do.

"We're here." Redstar's voice then made the apprentice look forward into the wide clearing, like a camp in itself, surrounded by bushes and trees with four thick stones in the center, supposedly meant for the four leaders to stand on. The occasional squirrel ran past the grassy plain, though Whitepaw didn't give chase because of Redstar's advice. "The territory is clanless, made by Starclan themselves so we may gather in peace. Any prey that find themselves here will be chased off if found to be a nuisance, but never killed. It is to show respect to Starclan for creating this plain, that we not kill or fight anyone or anything here." Ahead, a group of cats already found themselves in the clearing, and Whitepaw was curious if they were Swiftclan. No, too bulky. The apprentice quickly debunked the thought, slowly stepping forward with the rest of his clan, soon finding himself alone with Smoothstep as his clanmates found themselves in a corner of the camp. "Remember, we may talk to the others, but don't give anything away that may reveal any clan plans, and don't become attached to those you talk to. You may find yourself in battle with them one day." The elder quickly explained to the apprentice, before stepping forward towards the other clan, purring as a silver tom greeted him. "Smoothstep! Your young boy finally brought his own father to a gathering?" The other elder meowed teasingly, the two touching the tops of her heads in greeting. "My legs aren't how they use to be, I can't go every moon unlike you, Starshine!" The tabby purred in return, his head tilting over to look back at the white apprentice looking onward. "Say, Whitepaw, want to meet some of the Clawclan cats?" He then called over, in which Whitepaw held his breath. Clawclan! They were the nastiest clan in the forests as Redstar would say and the apprentice didn't feel like speaking to them, but Smoothstep's kind and willing gaze willed him over to greet the elder.

"Hmm, a little small, but those eyes are bright and muscles strong. A fine warrior I'm sure he'll be." Starshine purred to the apprentice, returning his green gaze towards his friend. "This your son's boy?" He asked, in which Smoothstep nodded. "The only one from the litter too, Dawnsight was talking about it being a prophecy of sorts, that a bright and blue eyed tom would be the only kit in the leader's litter." He explained, in which Whitepaw blinked in surprise, never hearing that before. Though he didn't want to say it out loud in front of the two, so he just slowly walked forward, letting the two elders meow about gossip to their hearts content. "So the son of Redstar, huh?" A strong voice then made Whitepaw turn around and face a huge tortoiseshell tom looking at him intently. His eyes were the same color as the grass they were standing on, with a nasty scar cutting across his muzzle and a nick along his left ear. The apprentice had to tilt his head all the way back in order to face the unknown tom, gulping quietly. "Whitepaw, was it?" The masculine tone came from the tom's mouth again, his gaze fixed on the little apprentice. "Uhm… yeah. Who are you?" Whitepaw asked nervously, the fur along his spine bristling. "Largeleap. No need to spike your fur, this IS a gathering, after all. Even if I wanted to hurt a tiny thing like you, I couldn't." The tortoiseshell answered, sitting on his haunches which still made him look twice as big as the apprentice. Whitepaw then took a deep breath, relaxing himself. "Yeah… it's just my first gathering. I don't know anyone so I'm jumpy." Largeleap nodded his head, his gaze soft on the underaged apprentice. "It's an overwhelming experience for everyone at first, can you imagine a big ol' warrior like me shaking like a mouse when first being in a crowd of the rough and tough warriors of all the clans? When Swiftclan and Forestclan get here, I'd suggest staying with your mentor or your fellow apprentices as to not get lost with another clan." Largeleap said comfortingly, one of his tufted ears then flicking and his gaze turning to see another crowd of cats entering the clearing.

"Forestclan.." The large tom whispered to himself, before returning his look towards Whitepaw. "Weird, Swiftclan is almost always here first, they are the quickest after all." The apprentice simply shrugged, not wanting to give his clan's attack out to the tom. Whitepaw then set his blue eyes on the newcoming cats, Forestclan as Largeleap called them. Their bodies were leaner than Clawclan and Darkclan's, similar to Swiftclan, but still larger and more muscular. At the head of the group was a long bodied she-cat with beautiful tortoiseshell fur and a fluffy tail. Her fur was long and her sun-yellow gaze was almost hypnotic, Whitepaw blinking some to fix his gaze away from her. Not far behind her was a light brown tom with a distinctive black chest and belly, his green eyes the complete opposite of the tortoiseshell's, rough and made the apprentice look away as to not meet it. Among the two were some others, a light grey tom with huge pale ears, a brown tabby she-cat, and a bright ginger tom with a gray muzzle were the ones he was able to make out from the crowd. "Cloverstar!" A sudden voice made Whitepaw jump and turn to see his father approach the tortoiseshell she-cat with a purr. "Hello Redstar. I assume newleaf is being generous to your clan?" The Forestclan leader greeted and asked, in which Redstar nodded. "It always is, and you?" Cloverstar simply nodded, looking behind the tom and towards the cats he had brought with him. "Seeing many new faces there, a shame, one of our queens had passed away during her kitting. We were only able to save one of the three kits' lives." The leader then said solemnly. Whitepaw was then taken by surprise as his leader rubbed his cheek up against the rival leader's. "Tragedies always strike in the worst ways. I am sorry for your loss." Redstar said in grief, then turning his head as the final group of cats enter the clearing.

Whitepaw held his breath as he immediately recognized the white and tabby patched pelt of Swiftclan's leader, Mountainstar. His light green gaze locked with Redstar's in a staredown, the apprentice being able to see the rival leader's contempt at the black furred tom. "Let's get this over with." Mountainstar's light, yet agitated tone was heard as he hopped up onto one of the highstones where leaders made their announcements, Cloverstar and Redstar soon joining him. Fishstar, the Clawclan leader, was the last to join the three atop the stones, Whitepaw being able to tell the leader's youthful eyes and slim body. He hasn't been leader for a while. He immediately thought, feeling semi-sorry for the pale cat's nervousness showing in his gaze. It was only when all four cats were atop their designated rocks is when Whitepaw realized he was separated from his own clan and was among the group of Clawclan's cats. "Don't panic, you can stay with us this time." Largeleap's tone was heard from behind the apprentice, and with a motion of his head, a dark tanned cat approached him. "Hey there, I'm Sandpaw, I'll keep you company while you are over here." The Clawclan apprentice spoke in a generous tone, sitting down next to the nervous tom with a gentle gleam in his blue eyes. Taking a deep breath, Whitepaw sat himself down next to the apprentice, unsure of his intentions. "You're are the son of a leader too, huh?" Sandpaw then asked Whitepaw, "Fishstar's my dad, though… my mom passed away before she could see me become an apprentice. I've heard about Lilyfur, she seems like a great mother." His words struck the white tom like a pair of claws, feeling bad for the cat and he could only let out a comforting purr, unsure of anything he could say to cheer him up. "Don't worry about me, I'm over it now. Briarlight acted as my foster mom when she was raising Dustpaw and Beetlepaw. She's cool." Sandpaw quickly stated with a purr.

"So Mountainstar, since you were last here, how about you let us know of your clan news first?" Redstar then asked the tabby spotted tom, who Whitepaw could see held back a nasty snarl at the teasing leader. "Very well." Was all Mountainstar let out his mouth towards the cat responsible for the ambush of his clanmates' patrol. "Things have been going well in Swiftclan. A queen, Barkclaw, has given birth to two healthy kits, Longkit and Grasskit. Two of our apprentices, Plumpaw and Honeypaw, have been made warriors. They now are called Plumseed and Honeydrop." The leader began to announce his clan news, his gaze aiming towards a small tortoiseshell she-cat and a skinny white tom with wide blue eyes. Before his next statement, Whitepaw saw the tom take a large breath, the fur along his back beginning to bristle. Is he going to announce the ambush? He couldn't help but wonder, holding his own breath as Mountainstar began to speak. "You may notice that Elkheart isn't here with us. Unfortunately she had her jaw broken, along with Groundpaw receiving a nasty bite on his neck. Ravencall is back at camp with them, making sure they recover. This was the result of a…" Just as he was about to state the name of Whitepaw's clan, the tip of his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, Mountainstar's eyes closed and he took another deep breath. "…a rogue attack. They had caught our dawn patrol, but he drove them off with enough force that they should never return to our territory." Whitepaw let out a gasp at the announcement, his shock shared by many of the Swiftclan cats that came with their leader. Is he lying on purpose, or did the cats of the patrol tell a different story? The apprentice wondered, his gaze trying to read Mountainstar's face. He look disappointed, head down and his eyes and mouth firmly shut as to hold in anything more he may say. He was definitely lying, Whitepaw thought, trying to figure out why. Is he….scared of Darkclan? Mountainstar was one of the noblest leaders as the warriors told him back at camp, very smart and a cat of his clan. Does he think he can't beat Darkclan if he enticed another attack? His clanmates certainly didn't like that he hadn't engaged Redstar, many protesting hisses and snarls heard from their direction. Meanwhile, Whitepaw noticed his father's gaze of satisfaction, tail swishing back and forth on his stone.

"Apologizes to you Mountainstar. Rogues are a nuisance to all of us, I'm sure your cats will recover well." Cloverstar's voice interrupted the commotion, who then took it upon herself to announce what has been happening in her clan. "As some of you may know, one of our clanmates, Riversplash, has unfortunately passed away during her kitting, along with two of her kits." She announced solemnly, with many gasps being heard throughout the three other clans. Was she well known? Or is every death reacted to like this? Whitepaw wondered, looking over to Sandpaw sitting next to him, who looked in grief. "She was a good cat, very sweet, yet one of the swiftest battlers you would've ever seen." The apprentice spoke, looking towards the crowd of Forestclan cats before returning it to Cloverstar. "We were able to save the life of one of her kits, who we have named in her honor as Splashkit. She will be raised by Mossyfur." Many relieved whispers were exchanged throughout the crowds, Whitepaw feeling a bit happy himself. That's a special kit. Maybe Starclan has something big planned for them? "We were also able to chase out a group of badgers from our territory, though I give warning to Fishstar as we had last seen them enter your territory." Cloverstar then spoke to Fishstar, who nodded his head. "We have picked up scents of the badgers, they seemed to have settled themselves at the far east of our territory, near the border with Darkclan. Clawclan passes warning to Redstar to be vigilante, in case they pass over to your territory." The Clawclan leader spoke, in which Redstar simply nodded. "If that's everything Cloverstar-" Fishstar's gaze was on the tortoiseshell she cat's, requesting permission to speak in which he was met with a nod. "-one of our apprentices, Chocolatepaw, has chosen to take on the route of becoming a medicine cat. She is now Treeleaf's apprentice, we hope she receives at least half of the knowledge he has, so she may become a fantastic medicine cat like he."

All eyes were now on Redstar after Fishstar finished his announcements, and Whitepaw couldn't help but notice his father's gleaming eyes, shining with satisfaction as his near-scarlet gaze rounded the gathering below him. The apprentice would love to become leader, to have the privlege of standing on one of the tall stones and speak for his clan to all the others. Despite all the wisdom and strength Redstar possessed, he was still young in comparison to Mountainstar and Cloverstar, though not as much as Fishstar. The look on his father's face told him exactly how he felt. Whitepaw would've thought a leader would get use to the attention when at a gathering, but Redstar seemed to be drinking in all the gazes like a dehydrated mouse. "Great news all around, well except for Swiftclan." Redstar finally spoke, dropping in a teasing hiss towards Mountainstar, but turning his voice back into the deep and commanding tone it was immediately afterwards. "I appreciate the warning Clawclan, if those badgers enter our territory, we will be ready." He assured, looking among the powerful warriors he possessed in his group of cats with confidence. "But nuisances aside, it was time that our nursery emptied, as all our kits have been made into apprentices! Unfortunately we couldn't bring all 5 of them with us, but here we have Clawpaw, Oakpaw, and Whitepaw!" Redstar announced, making sure to say his son's name out the loudest. There were a few cheers from the crowds, Swiftclan mostly silent, seeing no reason to cheer for their now enemies. Among the cheers however, there was one question coming from Forestclan's side of the gathering that seemed to silence everyone else.

"Isn't Whitepaw too young to be an apprentice?" The Forestclan warrior called out, looking confused as his gaze went in the direction of Darkclan's pack. Immediately whispers were beginning to be exchanged among the others, some elders more loudly yapping about how they recalled the gatherings beforehand. Whitepaw then felt a heat as strong as the sun as now everyone was staring questionly at him, and he could ever so slightly see his father getting visibily frustrated. "You are a bit small.." Sandpaw blurted out next to him, only confirming what everyone was probably thinking, looking at him. "No... he is not. Maybe next time, Cloudear, you don't try and stur up controversy in this peaceful gathering." Redstar so bluntly told the warrior who spoke up, causing said warrior to duck his head away from Redstar's violent gaze. "Redstar, I will be the one giving orders to my clan, you don't have a right to." Cloverstar finally spoke out, "It is clear that tensions are a bit high now, since everything seems to have been announced, let us all leave." She so professionally and calmly spoke, jumping down from her stone and, with a flick of her tail, beckoned the rest of her clanmates to follow her out of the area. "Finally, let's get going before all our camps rot." Mountainstar blurted out in uncharacteristic hostility, doing the same as the Forestclan leader, using their naturally faster speed to almost zoom out of sight.

"Well um, it was nice hanging out with you Whitepaw, I guess.." Sandpaw awkwardly said, waving his tail to the white apprentice before following his clan out. Slowly stepping back towards his own clan, he found an angry Redstar stomping around with Dogface by his side. "I told you it was a bad idea bringing him. What if Swiftclan thinks all we have are kits for warriors now?" The scarred warrior hissed, in which Redstar snarled back. "They know they can't beat us, no matter if we had ants for warriors!" He retaliated, in which Dogface would simply nod and turn his head away. "No, you are staying here along with my son." Redstar told Dogface before looking over at Fiercespirit. "You lead the clan back to camp, I have to talk to these two." He ordered the brown and white warrior, who gladly took it upon himself to lead his companions home. All Whitepaw wanted to do was just lay down and forget about the whole experience, all of it being filled with awkwardness, confusion, and embarrasment, but his father had different plans. "Now what on earth do you think you are doing, sitting alongside Clawclan?!" Redstar angrily asked, looming his head over Whitepaw who was forced to crotch down in order to avoid being headbutted. "You know me and that band of dogs don't get along! Yet on your first gathering you decide to get buddy buddy with some nobody apprentice and the rest of them!" He patronized his son, red eyes darkening with anger.

"I..." Before Whitepaw could even think of an answer, Redstar turned his head back towards Dogface, "And you, you are suppose to be his mentor! You keep your eyes on your apprentice! Get your head knocked up too many times and forget that?" He then belitted the warrior, who kept his head down, taking in the verbal barrage his leader was giving him. "Smoothstep... was with him, I didn't think..." Redstar interuptted Dogface with a hiss, walking away from the two. "I'll talk to him, you two aren't coming to any gatherings anytime soon." He grunted, soon disappearing into the trees. Whitepaw then mustered up the strength to look at Dogface, who had a pout on his long muzzle. Redstar had been so nice to him before, and while him and Dogface weren't best friends, he never berated him like that in such a hostile tone! Maybe he should stop expecting to be coddled and actually be smart... Whitepaw couldn't exactly think at the moment, his mind and heart heavy as he forced himself forward back to camp.


	7. Chapter 6

"What on earth was that?" Dogface's bitter voice rung in Whitepaw's ears as his face was planted into the ground, paws outstretched to try and catch a mouse. It had been 2 full moons since his last gathering where he was yelled at by his father, and ever since then, Dogface was super strict with his training. Training was something that Whitepaw looked forward to when he was a kit, but now he was starting to see why Blazepaw always complained about it after each day. Today, he was on hunting patrol with his mentor, along with Cactuspaw and Firefrog, and he was excited to show off his skills to his denmate, who always bragged about the prey he caught on patrol. And he was THIS close to snagging the rodnet with his claws and killing it, but it dove down into its hole just in the nick of time. Now he just felt Cactuspaw's teasing eyes burn deep into her fur as he slowly got up from the ground.

"It's no problem Dogface, the mouse won't be down there forever, I'm sure Whitepaw will get the next one." Firefrog kindly stated to the angry warrior, giving the embarrassed apprentice a flick on his shoulder with his tail. "Worry about your own apprentice, Firefrog..." Dogface simply grunted to the orange tabby, stepping away from him and glaring at Whitepaw. Even with Dogface's angry and disappointed glare looming over him, the apprentice gave a small nod to Firefrog as a thanks for the nice words, forcing himself back up onto his paws.

"Well that thump probably rung in the ears of all prey around here, how about you two-" Dogface snarled in the direction of the two apprentices, "-go south and see if you can't bring back anything. My paws are aching, having to carry this patrol..." Oh please! One little bird and he thinks he's done all the work! Whitepaw quietly retorted, simply nodding his head in acknowledge as he looked at Firefrog. "And me?" Firefrog quickly asked, just before Dogface disappeared behind a bush. A cringe went throughout the warrior's scarred body, as if those words just hit him with a pile of snow. "You... can mark the Swiftclan border then come back.." He muttered under his breath, just barely reaching Whitepaw's ears. "And if I see some Swiftclan cats?" Firefrog once again asked, sending a stronger shudder throughout the annoyed warrior's body. "If they are on their side of the border, there is no issue, just mark it and leave. If they are OUR side, then use those legs and run back to camp, do I seriously have to baby you through this?" He angrily instructed, beginning to walk away.

"Hey!" Cactuspaw's loud voice came out of nowhere, surprising Whitepaw as he had almost forgotten his denmate was there. Looking over, his friend had a mischevious look on his face, as if annoying the senior warrior was funny. Oh no.. Dogface almost didn't stop, wanting nothing more than to just leave and lay in his nest, but he did stop. Not only did he stop, but he turned around and stomped his way over to the cocky apprentice, broad face hovering over his. "What?" He asked in a gritty, menacing tone, long claws unsheathed and the beginning of a snarl on his muzzle. It seemed that Cactuspaw immediately regretted his decision, the look of mischief on his face replaced with fear. "..N-..N..othing.." The spiky apprentice's stuttered words were forced out of his mouth, ears flattened and tail curled in between his legs. It seemed that answer wasn't enough for Dogface, lowering his head even further, forcing the apprentice to then flop down onto his belly. "No, you are going to let me know why you just called me back here, or else..." He bitterly snarled, those sharp, yellow teeth bared and looming over Cactuspaw's face, small drops of saliva dropping down from his jaws.

Whitepaw desperately looked over towards Firefrog, to see if he would do anything to stop this. It seemed the ginger warrior looked just as disgusted by the act as Whitepaw was feeling, but he kept sat behind, not daring to defy the powerful tom. He's your apprentice, do something! He silently willed on the young cat, but it was no matter, he simply sat still. Looking back at Dogface and Cactuspaw, it seemed no progress was being made. The spiky apprentice refused to speak at all, not being able to come up with an excuse, while Dogface seemed to be waiting for the excuse. Suddenly, there was movement as Dogface then lifted up a paw, claws extended. Cactuspaw was frozen in place, all he could do was close his eyes as the senior warrior prepared his strike.

No! Whitepaw thought in shock, acting on reflex as he pushed his hind paws into the ground and springing them towards Dogface, slamming right against his chest and using all his strength to shove him away. Thankfully the warrior was taken by surprise, sent backwards several tail-lengths, his striking paw only catching a tuft of fur on Cactuspaw's shoulder. "Cactuspaw!" Firefrog called out, now rushing over to his apprentice to check on him. Whitepaw let out a grunt as he worked his way back onto his paws, shaking himself clean of dust, only to see his mentor do the same. Cactuspaw was still stuck in place, limbs shaking as his head tilted to face Firefrog. Dogface's glare would look towards his attacker, seething with rage at what just happened. He had never looked more like a rabid dog as he did in that moment, teeth bared in anger, huge claws digging into the ground as he stared hatefully at Whitepaw.

Whitepaw was just about to bolt off in order to not get slashed into pieces, but it was then when Dogface gave himself a final shake of his coat before walking away, back towards camp, as if the incident never happened. There was a few moments of complete silence, the apprentice almost expecting the warrior to jump out from the shadows and attack him, but nothing... "A...are you crazy?!" Were the words to break the silence, coming from the cowering Cactuspaw. Whitepaw quickly rushed over, thankful to see the strike only caught fur. "No... I just didn't want you to get hurt..." He answered in a small tone, embarrassed to say it but not wanting to lie. "You two should go back to camp, I'll do hunting and bordor patrol." Firefrog ordered, using a paw to help his apprentice back up onto his paws. "But what if Dogface..." Cactuspaw began to ask, only getting his words muffled by Whitepaw's tail. "Thanks Firefrog." He simply stated, before nudging Cactuspaw the way of camp.

Thankfully, Cactuspaw didn't budge, walking alongside Whitepaw back to camp. It was silent once again, except for the occassional bird chirp, just teasingly out of reach for an outstretched paw to swipe and shut it up. Every few steps, Whitepaw would look over to his side to see how Cactuspaw was doing, and each time he couldn't read his expression. He had calmed down from before, but there were still some dots of fear in his sunny gaze. Soon, they had reached the bushy entrance to camp, Whitepaw feeling the wet leaves of the entrance damp his flank. It had rained the previous night, irritating the white tom to no end as the constant drizzle constantly interrupted his well-deserved rest. Having his nest right next to the entrance of the den didn't help, droplets of the cursed water falling right onto his nose just as he began to doze off. Dawnsight said there were going to be some more drizzles coming up in the following days, but none as heavy and loud as the previous one, thankfully.

"Thanks." Cactuspaw's voice then interrupted Whitepaw's thoughts, and the next thing he knew, he was standing alone at the entrance of camp with his spiky friend hopping down the ledges to the clearing, meeting up with Amberleaf. Whitepaw then let out a small chuckle, his mind free from the near-fight with his mentor as he saw the two brush their cheeks together and go to the fresh-kill pile. Cactuspaw was practically still a kit with his attitude, and yet he had managed to snag the interests of a young and pretty warrior in Amberleaf, and he wouldn't be surprised to hear of the two becoming mates the second Cactuspaw became a warrior. Luckily for Whitepaw, Amberleaf had grown much more mature in her few moons after her warrior ceremony, leaving her cruel pranks in the past and becoming a warrior of kindness and loyalty.

It was a nice thing to see two cats getting along so well, as some of the others faces in Darkclan were a complete opposite. Dogface and Burrclaw were always at each other's throats in arguments over the smallest of things, Ocelotpaw, the oldest apprentice in the clan, often bickered with the other apprentices, even the leader and deputy of the clan, Redstar and Duckthroat, exchanged ill-intended words on ocassion. Even the new queen in the nursery, Fernheart, refused to let others know who the father of her unborn kits was, and gave a nasty spit in the way of anyone who asked. It was odd, since she was usually very sweet and quick to help others out.

"Move it, dirt-for-brains!" Suddenly a high-pitched voice came from behind Whitepaw, and he couldn't react as he had a head knock right against his flank, knocking out from the entrance and into the clearing. It wasn't a dangerous fall, the gap from the entrance to the floor was around two fox-lengths, but it still wasn't pleasant to get knocked down like he did. Luckily he was able to balance himself and land on unsteady paws, sliding along them a few tail-lengths, burning and scrapping his paw-pads in the process against the earth. Quickly, Whitepaw gazed up towards the entrance to see just who did the mean act. "See, he's fine! He's not that much of a mouse!" Clawpaw called behind him from the entrance, before safely hopping down the earthy ledges set along a slope down into the camp. Following him would be Burrclaw, Pantherpelt, and Blazepaw, all of them carrying prey except for Clawpaw.

Clawpaw, ever since his apprentice ceremony where he was given Redstar as his mentor, had been nothing but a complete nuisance to everyone with his entitlement. Beforehand, he was a curious, yet quiet kit who wasn't such an annoyance to be around. "Hey, watch where you are going, dingus!" Whitepaw angrily yelled in the direction of his pusher, who was heading the way of Cactuspaw and Peachpaw sitting at the entrance of the apprentices' den. "And the mouse speaks! Thought you had lost your tongue there!" Clawpaw loudly stated, gathering the attention of everyone in camp.

Great.. Whitepaw thought, feeling the curious gaze of all his clanmates burning down onto him. He wouldn't mind an argument with the cocky tom, but not with most of the clan now eagerly awaiting the next exchanged words. Surprisingly, it wasn't neither apprentice who broke the silence, but Glasspaw, who had padded up next to Whitepaw. "Me and Dawnsight should check on your pads, skidding along the hard ground isn't good for them." Her delicate voice told Whitepaw, who nodded his head, happy to try and get everyone's sight off of him. "Yeah, that's right! Go away and get your tiny paws looked at!" Clawpaw's annoying voice rung in his ears as he followed the medicine cat apprentice into Dawnsight's den, who then began to take a look at his paw-pads. Now if things could be as calm and cool in here as they were out there... Whitepaw quietly thought to himself as Dawnsight and Glasspaw silently worked together to treat his scrapped pads, his mind drifting to the idea of becoming a medicine cat, though he knew he would never be able to remember every single herb Dawnsight had to know, as well as far away they seemed from the rest of the clan. Whitepaw wanted to have friends and possibly a mate, be a strong warrior who served his clan with his teeth and claws, not his herb knowledge.

"Now, go ahead and rest for the rest of the day, your pads should be as good as new by tommorrow, though not if you just drag them in dirt." Dawnsight's calm voice ordered Whitepaw, who had no problem in exiting the medicine cat's den, going into the apprentice's and resting himself in his nest, flattening his ears against his head to muffle the usual commotion happening outside as he slowly drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 7

"Psst... Whitepaw..." A gentle whisper awoke Whitepaw from his slumber, a few rough blinks clearing his vision just enough to see the soft brown fur of his denmate and good friend, Oakpaw. At least he hasn't developed an attitude... He grumbled to himself, stretching out his muscles before slowly getting up onto his paws. It had been a few days since his encounter with Dogface, and his incident with Clawpaw, and thankfully he had to deal with neither of them ever since, with his pads taking longer to heal than they should've. He just spent most of those few days resting in his nest, while Dawnsight was kind enough to keep Dogface and Clawpaw away from him whenever he could.

"Dawnsight wants to check on your pads, and Duckthroat said if he gives you the ok, me, you, Dogface and Fiercespirit are going to do a border patrol around the lake." Oakpaw explained, the mere mention of the lake giving Whitepaw a chill. The lake, also known as the border between Darkclan territory and Clawclan territory, was a dangerous place, not only for the obvious threat of another clan on the other side, but because of the danger that comes with the rushing waves of water that has been known to catch uncareful cats and swallow them into its grasp, never to be heard of or seen ever again. There were some stepping stones that made crossing the danger easier, but with the recent rain, the water had risen and made the stones unusable to cross.

"Hey, I don't like that part of the forest either, but we gotta do it. You think Redstar got where he is right now by dodging scary patrols?" Oakpaw's teasing tone helped ease Whitepaw's unspoken fear slightly, though it was still stuck in the back of his mind. Whitepaw reluctantly walked out of the apprentices' den, just being able to tell the time of the day of early morning despite the dark gray clouds covering most of the usually bright blue sky. "So much for no more rain, huh..." Oakpaw's kind voice perfectly voiced Whitepaw's thoughts, hating the rain just as much as anything. It makes almost everything in relation to clan life more difficult, except maybe thrist, and was just a massive bother.

Entering Dawnsight's den, Whitepaw's blue gaze rested on the medicine cat tidying up his herb supply, keeping each different leaf, stick and flower perfectly organized and easy to grab in emergencies. "When you are done here, meet us at the Tall Stump" Oakpaw whispered into Whitepaw's ear before racing off. "Ahem..." The apprentice let out of his mouth as he entered, not wanting to wake anyone up. "Ah, Whitepaw, you thinking those pads are good to go?" Dawnsight answered with a question, waving his tail to invite Whitepaw further inside. "They... feel good I guess?" He answered unsure, never really thinking of the condition of his paw-pads before the incident and even afterwards they never felt that bad. "Heh, well they can feel good, but what we need to know are if they are healthy enough for a border patrol." Glasspaw's teasing voice caught Whitepaw off-guard, and he turned to see the blue-gray she-cat enter the den from behind him.

"And they are, and I think we both know that." Dawnsight's suddenly strict tone then surprised Whitepaw again, waving the thin-coated apprentice closer inside. "Our pads often take a lot of abuse, Whitepaw. They are built to be durable, and injuries to them almost never keep you away from your duties for as long as you were." The medicine cat explained, keeping his gaze locked onto the confused apprentice. "And I know what you are thinking, so no need to bring it up. Why? Because I know of what happened before your... dangerous entrance into the camp. Cactuspaw told me, the whole clan knows what happened." Dawnsight told Whitepaw, who's gaze widened. He knew Cactuspaw had a large and loud mouth, but he thought the 'discipline' from Dogface was enough to keep him quiet. "You tackled your own mentor and aggravated him to nearly attack you. While it was in the defense of your own clanmate, I recommend you don't stick your nose in such incidents again. Often times it will get you hurt or even worse and the clan can't afford a casuality right now nearing leaf-fall. I wanted to protect you to make sure Dogface didn't do anything rash in his rage, but there is only so much I can do." The medicine cat's explanation ran a chill throughout Whitepaw's spine, Dogface did seem angry when he had looked him eye-to-eye during the incident, but if he didn't attack him in that moment, why do it afterwards in the camp? Why was he about to go on a patrol with him if he could just want to use it to punish him for his disobidence?

"Dogface won't have forgotten about what you did, but I suspect he won't attack you. He gets angry, but he also respects bravery, and you were brave enough to jump right at the dog's drooling jaws in order to protect your friend. That's something that hasn't happened in moons. Even in the times where he was yelling for an opportunity to see you and 'teach you a lesson', I could sense he saw something in you and wouldn't want to do anything to take that away. Take that as you will." Dawnsight finished his explanation, giving Whitepaw a pat on the ear with his tail. "Now go on, keeping him waiting won't help your case. Oh, and if anyone asks, I checked your pads and said you were fine to continue your duties. This conversation never happened." He then gave a strict look at Glasspaw who was watching the entrance, who nodded her head and entered further into the den.

Whitepaw was frozen to the ground for a moment, trying to take in everything that he was just told. But he knew he couldn't just sit there forever, and one last look from Dawnsight set him off out of the den and towards the entrance of camp, climbing up the convenient ledges and racing towards where Oakpaw told him to go. The Tall Stump was exactly what you'd think it would be, a tree stump that was as tall as two badgers. It used to be the tallest tree in all of the forests, but a heavy storm caused it to fall. After a few minutes of running, Whitepaw finally spotted his three clanmates for the border patrol, Oakpaw and Fiercespirit speaking together while Dogface sat on the top of the stump, his narrow green eyes looking out, either looking for dangers.. or for him.

"Hey Whitepaw! Those pads feeling good?" Fiercespirit seemed to be in a good enough mood, which was rare. He wasn't nearly as bad as Dogface or Burrclaw, but still, he often acted like HE was the leader of Darkclan with his sour tongue. Oakpaw probably had something to do with that. He always seemed to be in such a better mood around his kits than when on a normal patrol or a normal chat with clanmates that weren't his kin. "Come on, no time for conversation." Dogface hissed, hopping off of the legendary stump and silenting any answer Whitepaw may have given to the warrior's question. Fiercespirit and Dogface then took the lead of the patrol, heading west towards the river while Oakpaw and Whitepaw followed behind. "Must've been a long checkup, huh?" Oakpaw's teasing voice usually comforted Whitepaw, but with the long conversation he just had with Dawnsight, it only made him more nervous. What if Dogface found out what Dawnsight told me..? The white apprentice fearfully thought, keeping a straight face as to not get Oakpaw to ask anymore questions. "Well... Dawnsight and Glasspaw just got talking about herbs and such while he was checking up on me, so it took longer." Whitepaw lied, shrugging his shoulder as he started to hear the rushing waters of that dreadful border.

Thankfully Oakpaw didn't pry into it anymore, changing the subject. "So who did you think is the father of Fernheart's kits?" He asked, waving his tail back and forth. "They aren't born yet.." Whitepaw brought up, in which Oakpaw nudged his shoulder with a chuckle. "You know what I mean!" The question got Whitepaw thinking, since Fernheart still refused to answer any questions in relation to who was going to be the father of her kits. Usually when a queen refused to release that information, it was because of a break-up or some sort of accident, so Whitepaw just left it at that, but he was still curious as to who was Fernheart's mate, even for a brief moment. "Sunsight hasn't said anything on the matter, could be him.." Oakpaw then brought up, not letting Whitepaw answer, though he was a good candidate. Never had a mate, around the same age as Fernheart, though he didn't seem like the sort of cat to have a mate, and his personality didn't really fit well with Fernheart's.

"I'm sure whenever she feels comfortable, she'll let you gossipers know. Now shut up and keep your eyes ahead of you." Fiercespirit meowed aggressively behind him, which was enough to shut both apprentices' mouths for the moment. Whitepaw's eyes then made sure to stick in front of him, beginning to see the trees far ahead of him slowly stop appearing. We must be close. He thought to himself, the bank leading up to the river with only one tree standing beside it, and the roar of rushing water becoming apparent in Whitepaw's ears. "So what's the point of marking the border with the water meaning no one could pass?" Oakpaw asked curiously, tilting his head as Whitepaw could almost see the thoughts swimming around in his head. Dogface's ugly mug then turned to face Oakpaw, but luckily before he could spit a nasty comment, Fiercespirit spoke up. "Can never be too safe. Remember, we aren't only marking our side of the border, but also checking for potential threats, like foxes or badgers." That seemed to satisfy Oakpaw enough to simply nod his head and Dogface grumbled quietly, turning his head back towards the rushing waves of the natural border between the two clans. "Rain won't help..." Dogface muttered, Whitepaw only then noticing the small specks of water splashing against his nose and back. Great...

"Got to make this quick then, right? Don't want any soggy coats and colds..." Oakpaw's bright voice didn't help Whitepaw's mood of the weather, only hoping he could hide his head back under the apprentices' den and nap until it was all gone. "Right. Make sure to keep a steady foot and don't run unless there's danger. Slipping and falling into the lake is the last thing we need." Dogface instructed with his dim green eyes firmly on Whitepaw, who simply nodded his head. As if I would do that! Whitepaw huffed in his mind, but not wanting to do anything to get Dogface angry. "How about we split up? There's a lot to mark, and we'd get it done quicker if two of us each went the opposite direction." Oakpaw then suggested, in which Fiercespirit gave him a proud look. "Good idea. Mentors with apprentices?" He then asked Dogface, and Whitepaw flattened his ears against his head. "No. Let these two go west, we'll go east." The scarred warrior answered flatly, giving Fiercespirit a hard look. "West is much less distance for them to cover, plus if they know how to mark a damn border and don't have ice for paws, they'll be fine. Let's get moving." The tan tom made sure to shut up any more disputes or questions to his order as the four then stood on the beginning of the smooth bank, only one tree planted in place right beside the water despite the stories of several floods crashing and destroying all other trees that sat close to it. It was clear the water had risen higher than it was not long ago, the feeling of wet soil and mud sticking to his paws unpleasant, and grass was ripped from the ground thanks to the strong waves.

But of course, the thing that caught Whitepaw's attention the most was the actual lake. With rain, the water would surely rise in some time, but even without it, it was still a scary sight. There was little to nothing a cat could grab onto if they fell in, and even if they did find something, climbing back up onto shore would be a significant challenge, only a few roots acting as pawholds for climbing from the tail-length gap between walkable land and waves of water. "Well, let's get going..." Oakpaw spoke towards Whitepaw, who was able to take his eyes off of the rushing black water for the first time since arriving on the bank and look towards his friend, who was already walking along the shore, with both Dogface and Fiercespirit already out of sight. Quickly, Whitepaw shook his head of his anxiety and rushed towards Oakpaw, who was already beginning to mark Darkclan territory.

Whitepaw didn't feel much up for talking, and thankfully Oakpaw seemed to notice that and kept quiet, silently walking along the dangerous border and making sure to keep her mouths open to catch any unusual scents. It was soon until they reached the edge of their border, looking out towards more forest that was unowned by any clan cat and any twoleg, thankfully. "Do you think Dogface would want us to meet back with him where we began or should we go back to camp?" Oakpaw asked, giving his pelt a proper shake to clean as much rain as he could, in which Whitepaw did the same. "Well, we should go back to the beginning just to be safe.." Whitepaw answered, in which Oakpaw nodded his head in agreement. Can't wait to get some rest... Whitepaw thought to himself, letting out a small purr as he imagined curling up in his nest and napping away the rest of this forsaken rain!

"So is this where Ratstar died?" Suddenly, Whitepaw was able to make out a voice from across the lake, and looking over, he was able to spot two fully grown cats and one small cat. Two warriors and an apprentice? Whitepaw guessed, assuming so since they were on Clawclan territory. Wait, who's Ratstar? He also thought, never having heard of a Ratstar in any of the stories Darkclan elders and warriors told. "Yes Smallpaw." One of the warriors answered, a tall calico tom with a gnarly scar running up his upper lip to his nose. "Do we know who did it?" The apprentice asked once again, a small light grey with a small overbite, a fang sticking out of his mouth and resting against his muzzle. "No, but maybe they do!" The other warrior answered, a tan tabby tom, and Whitepaw was surprised to see the warrior point over towards him and Oakpaw, not knowing the three were knowing of them being there.

"Uh, we didn't do anything to Ratstar, sorry!" Oakpaw yelled over, shaking his head as if to help his point. Why engage them... Whitepaw growled to himself, knowing they couldn't just walk away after that. "Of course, you two were probably still inside your mom's bellies when it happened, and even now you pose no threat to any grown cat!" The tan warrior snarled, causing Whitepaw to bristle up his fur. "But who else but the dirtiest cats in the forest to kill a leader in coldblood! Darkclan scum are a bunch of no good, murdering pigs!" He then accused from over the lake, getting Whitepaw's blood boiling. "How dare you!" Whitepaw yelled out in anger, slicing his claws along the earth below him, wanting nothing more than to teach the opposing warrior a lesson for ever saying something like that about his clanmates. "Exactly Tanstripe." To Whitepaw's surprise, it was the calico warrior who spoke up for the other clan, "Ratstar's death is a tragedy, but how dare you accuse another clan of the crime? Everyone in the clan knew there were scents of rogue near the lake, and Ratstar still went out by himself." The other warrior lectured the smaller tom, who was simply shaking his head in frustration in response to.

"We should get out of here..." Oakpaw whispered to Whitepaw, who couldn't agree more, quickly jogging back into the forest as the lecture continued on the other side of the lake. "So do you know who Ratstar is?" Whitepaw asked his clanmate, who shook his head. "No, Fiercespirit never told me about him, or any of the elders." He responded, which only confirmed Whitepaw's thoughts of the clan never speaking of the former leader. "Ratstar?" Fiercespirit's voice caught Whitepaw by surprise, and he turned his head to see the brown and white warrior looking at the two in confusion. "How do you two know who that is?" He asked, turning towards his son, probably knowing he was much more talkative and open than Whitepaw, especially to his own father. "Some Clawclan cats from across the border were talking about him and then accused us of doing it... well not us specifcally, but one of our clan." Oakpaw explained, seeming more curious by the verbal engagement than angry like Whitepaw was. Immediately, Fiercespirit turned from curious to angry, his claws unsheathed. "Don't believe a word of it, Clawclan cats would rather believe one of us would 'dare harm their leader' than his own imcompetence being his own undoing. Now let's go." He explained with a growl, flicking his tail for the two to follow him back to camp, in which Whitepaw was glad about.

Back at camp, he saw his father speaking to Burrclaw and Sunsight, amber eyes narrow but intent and the fur along his spine bristling. What now? Whitepaw groaned to himself, after getting yelled at by some Clawclan warrior, he didn't want anymore trouble and the opportunity to simply rest. "Let's go and see what has happened." Dogface's deep voice caught Whitepaw offguard, especially what he was saying. "What... isn't this a concern for senior warriors?" He then asked, though the hard stare of Dogface shut up any protests. "Redstar wants you to become more involved in clan decisions." Dogface only said, and Whitepaw reluctantly followed his mentor forward to his father, a glare from Burrclaw making him flinch. "When do we attack?" Clawpaw's annoying tone then turned Whitepaw from anxious to annoyed, seeing his irritating face spit about fights like they were nothing!

" 'paw's got a point. We already taught those rabbit-chasers a lesson one time, and they are still dumb enough to invade our territory and steal our prey! Perhaps we leave more than a few scars for them to attend to." Burrclaw's bitter tone surprisingly backed up the apprentice, her brown gaze staring into Redstar's, almost begging for a chance to fight. "Swiftclan again?" Whitepaw asked, finding himself a seat in the small crowd. He could see that Clawpaw was about to say some sort of comment in response to him, but a quick snarl of Dogface shut those thoughts up quickly. "Yes, we found their scent all over the east side of the forest. Probably scared off every single mouse and squirrel there they didn't catch." Sunsight explained to the newcoming apprentice. "No way an unorganized patrol would have just done that in danger of getting in trouble with Mountainstar and how adamantly he tells his warriors to abide by the code. It was planned and instructed by Mountainstar, we simply can't let that slide." The warrior then told Redstar, who had his dark pupils on the sky.

"We've attacked a patrol and that wasn't enough for them to back up, we need to hit them harder." Dogface's deep voice sent a chill down Whitepaw's spine, seeing the sadistic eyes of Clawpaw and Burrclaw egging Redstar on. After a few more silent moments, the leader spoke once more, his tone clear as his claws dug into the ground below him. "Very well. You all made good points, which is why at dawn two sunrises from now, we will raid their camp. We will tear them apart and wipe them from the plains."


	9. Chapter 8

It had been a day since the announcement of the battle, and Whitepaw found himself nibbling on a mouse anxiously, the thought of a battle not bothering him, but a full-on ambush? Redstar had made it clear that due to Swiftclan's ambitious invasion of the forest could not be tolerated and they needed to wipe them from the plains and make sure they could no longer be a threat to Darkclan. For the little time Whitepaw had spent in Darkclan, everything pointed to four clans existing with the almost perfectly laid-out territory for the four clans to live and survive in. To run an entire clan off breaks the balance that Starclan had laid out, and even outside of religious reasons, it just seemed so morally wrong to chase so many cats away from their home, never to return and their future much more unknown. And it was unlikely that every single cat made it out alive, there were going to stubborn cats who refused to leave their territory, and thus, would need to be killed.

In order to pull off such a monumental attack, Redstar had announced that every able cat in the clan would have to join, save a few elders, queens, and the kits. Rainstorm had already made it clear that nothing would stop her from joining the attack, seeing as how the tortoiseshell elder was working on her battle skills with Fiercespirit in the center of camp. Despite the large supply of freshkill brought in each day, her ribcage was still visbily poking against her chest and her legs were little more than furry sticks. It was clear that she was the least capable fighter out of all grown cats, her movement so slow and needing a moment to breath after each battle move she practiced. If she goes through with this, she'll die... Whitepaw thought sorrowly, though he knew there was no way he would be able to talk her out of it.

Clawpaw and Ocelotpaw were playfighting not far away, claws thankfully sheathed, though it was clear that despite Ocelotpaw's better experience, Clawpaw had already grown to be larger than him and had the strength to overpower the more nimble fighter. Pantherpelt was discussing battle strategy with Firefrog and Russetfox, his light orange gaze determined and the two other's warriors intent on the senior warrior and his words, just like kits looking up to an elder telling a story. In all of the recent confusion and turmoil Whitepaw had gone through, he had forgotten just how young the clan really was. There were little elders, Redstar was still in his prime physically, and the only real old warriors were Dogface and Burrclaw, though both still had the strides and the strikes of any other warrior and would gladly show those skills off to any who called them old. Everyone else still walked around with the same youth as when they were younger, still very quick on their feet and still so much to learn.

"Hello Whitepaw, how are those battle moves coming along?" Duckthroat's deep tone caught Whitepaw off guard, but he quickly adjusted himself and respectfully nodded to the deputy. "Uh, good. Me and Oakpaw have actually been practicing since the announcement, though he's out on patrol now." The white furred tom answered, taking another bite of his mouse when he caught Duckthroat's eyes on it. "Well good. He and the patrol should be back soon enough. There's going to be a big battle tommorrow and every cat needs to be prepared, both physically and mentally." The ginger deputy responded with a purr, though his eyes showed uncertainty. I guess he's not a fan of the ambush either.. Whitepaw thought with some grimance, though didn't dare bring it up.

"Right on queue, Duckthroat." Rainstorm called out, and just like that, Sunsight and Blackcloud walked through the entrance, prey in their jaws, followed by Oakpaw and Blazepaw. Sunsight and Blackcloud were each carrying mice, while Oakpaw was smiling with a crow dangling from his mouth. "That's a big one..." Fiercespirit called, and Whitepaw turned his head to see Blazepaw dragging a rabbit twice the size of a kit in her jaws. There were some calls about the size of the rabbit and how good of a hunter Blazepaw was in order to catch it, and her bright blue eyes were shining with satisfaction, though her neck strained to drag the heavy freshkill across the camp and she often had to stop and catch a breath after a few hard drags. "Go help her out, will you?" Duckthroat whispered in Whitepaw's ear, giving him a push on the rump, sending him forward. Whitepaw then reluctantly walked forward, greeting Blazepaw with an awkward shrug before grabbing one of the long hind-legs of the rabbit, allowing Blazepaw to lift up her side of the rabbit by its ears.

Together, they were able to haul the giant rabbit to the fresh kill pile, setting it down beside the other pile of prey. That was heavy... Whitepaw thought to himself, leaning his head back and cracking his neck, only to see Blazepaw walking up to her father, Duckthroat. The deputy seemed to lean his head down and whisper a few words into her ear, with Blazepaw responded with a small grunt, before turning her head toward Whitepaw. "Thanks for the help.." She said unenthusiastically, before quickly padding off in the direction of Clawpaw and Ocelotpaw who were watching from afar. "Well that's she-cats for you!" Oakpaw's cheerful purr surprised Whitepaw, but he simply chuckled some. "I guess so." He sighed, looking over at the ginger tabby chatting rather happily rather Ocelotpaw and Clawpaw. Her ginger fur almost sparkled in the sunlight, her ocean blue eyes shining beautifully and her fluffy tail was wrapped neatly around her paws.

"Hey Whitepaw.." Duckthroat's whisper caught Whitepaw offguard, and he turned to face the ginger deputy. "We're going on hunting patrol, so I'm going to need you to not be so... bottom heavy." He told the apprentice, before giving him a small pat on the ear and padding off towards the entrance. Thankfully no one else was around to see the awkward staring Whitepaw was doing, and Duckthroat had seemingly kept his voice down as to not embarass him in front of most of the clan. Shaking his head clear of the cobwebs, Whitepaw gathered himself and ran after the deputy, the image of Blazepaw still in the back of his mind.

The rest of the day passed by without trouble, Whitepaw managing to nab a raven that was feasting on a worm while on patrol, while Duckthroat and Firefrog, who volunteered to join, got a mouse and a vole respectively. As the three cats returned to camp, the sun was barely visible behind the trees, and the sky was a darkening blue, with a few stars beginning to twinkle throughout the cloudless wonder above him. Many cats had already gone into their dens for rest despite the edge of the moon just starting to coming up, since Redstar wanted everyone to be up and early for the attack on Swiftclan.

"Nice job you two, get yourselves some rest, I'll have one or two other warriors keep watch for the night." Duckthroat told the two, his yellow gaze remaining on Whitepaw. Firefrog simply nodded his head in relief and padded off towards the warriors' den, leaving only Duckthroat and Whitepaw in the clearing. "Especially you. Some around here think you shouldn't be an apprentice, but I think you're proving them wrong. Got the heart of a true warrior, and I think soon everyone will see that." The deputy unexpectedly told Whitepaw, who could only blink in surprise at the comment. "Tomorrow, if you're hurt... don't be scared to just run, this fight isn't a good one, and you shouldn't have to risk your life over this."

"But..." Whitepaw tried to speak up, but Duckthroat had already began to walk away towards the warriors' den, leaving only him in the clearing. Many questions ran throughout his head that he had no answers to, and he could only walk to the apprentices' den and find his nest, shutting his eyes and hoping that his mind would let him fall asleep. It didn't, for what felt like eternity, he constantly questioned what he was just told, and what he had been told not so long ago. Was he truly special or was this just what Duckthroat told every apprentice? It was difficult to tell, as looking at the other apprentices around them, he could see their talents and how special they could seem to others, so what made him so different?

He wasn't the strongest, that clearly belonged to Clawpaw, neither the quickest, that went to Ocelotpaw. Smartest? No... Oakpaw seemed to pick up everything he was taught so easily, so much better than him or anyone else really. The only special thing he saw in himself was the fact that he was Redstar's son, though that's not a skill that helps his clan in anyway. This argument inside his head went on for hours, until one moment of peace was all that Whitepaw needed to drift off to rest, finally...

It was a nice and sunny morning as Whitepaw was wandering through the forest, his blue eyes gleaming happily as he watched a bird fly overhead, a nut in its beak and black beady eyes shining. The apprentice didn't care that the prey was just out of reach though, he was content with just taking a walk and getting his mind off of the battle for a little bit. The feeling of dry grass in between his toes was a nice one, in contrast to the soaking turf that soaked his pads daily when it was raining the past days.

His paws had him wandering towards the lake, where he had previously had an encounter with some Clawclan cats before, hoping to not see any this time around. This caused Whitepaw's mind to wander back to just who the warriors were talking about. Ratstar... He thought to himself, trying to envision what the leader was like. Rat was a demeaning name often yelled during battles to insult enemies, and yet a leader was named after one. Was he an outcast at first and soon grew into a leader everyone could respect? Maybe he wasn't liked that much and still became leader?

Whitepaw's thoughts were then interrupted as he felt a liquid stain his paws, and looking down, his eyes widened. Blood?! He thought in horror, the thick oil sticking to his fur. Blinking rapidly, Whitepaw wanted to run, but he needed to find out just what it came from. Did Swiftclan assault them? Maybe Clawclan was angry over Ratstar's death? Whatever the case, the apprentice stepped forward, only to see a cat's corpse gushing out the gore, laid on its side. Whitepaw couldn't recognize who's body it was, stepping forward and sniffing it told him it was indeed a Darkclan cat, but who? Their pelt was so soaked in blood that he couldn't recognize them.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes watching him, hungrily... But where from? Reluctantly turning his head from side to side, he found the gaze coming from a nearby bush, huge pawprints of blood leading towards it. Frozen in fear, Whitepaw couldn't react as the massive body leaped out from the shrubbery, giant paws extended and ready to kill to the horror of the apprentice.


	10. Chapter 9

"Ah, what the hell are you doing?! Get off!" Whitepaw's eyes shot open as he felt the voice echo in his ears and paws pushing against his back. Shaking his head, he stood up and took a few pawsteps away, his head dizzy and vision still somewhat blurry. Thankfully as he looked around, he found himself still in the apprentices' den. A dream... Looking backwards, he saw the angered look of Clawpaw, a snarl curling up his upper lip and fur bristled. Ocelotpaw and Peachpaw were looking onward, stiffling giggles, turning Whitepaw's pelt hot.

"What's going on in here?" Blackcloud's head poked through the den's entrance, looking over the four cats before his gaze landed on Whitepaw. "Dirtface Whitepaw just jumped on me while I was resting!" Clawpaw answered, standing up and shaking his prickled fur, keeping a nasty glare on Whitepaw as he stretched his legs. "But I didn't.." Whitepaw tried to speak up for himself, only to be interuptted by a purr of amusement from the warrior. "Well uh... save that for the enemies today, Whitepaw. Besides, you guys needed to get up anyway, almost time." He told the two, before stepping back out, leaving Whitepaw with the three other apprentices.

Ocelotpaw and Peachpaw then walked out, leaving Whitepaw alone with Clawpaw. The brown apprentice's angry glare as he looked down soon turned into a somewhat amused gaze, an edge of humor crossing his muzzle. "Sorry man, I uh... really didn't mean to... just a bad dream and all.." Whitepaw tried to explain, but Clawpaw simply shouldered past. "Yeah yeah..." His deep voice brushed off his denmate's apology, stepping out of the den towards the other apprentices, his head lowered to face the ground.

Finding no need to dwell on the incident, Whitepaw soon followed afterwards, the sky still a dark, almost colorless blue, a few stars still visible with the moon poking atop the trees. Everyone was gathered and chatting, with a few practicing battle moves, while others were primed on battle strategy. Among the crowd was Rainstorm, her mind clearly not changed in the day, her dark gaze eager like an apprentice's, though that's where the comparisons with youth end. Her teeth were yellow, gray fur riddling her face, and each step she made looked painful on her small paws. She posed little to no threat to any cat, let alone an entire clan who are going to do their best to defend their camp, even if that meant to kill.

Starclan give her strength. Whitepaw quietly prayed to his ancestors, stepping forward to meet up with Oakpaw who was talking to Fiercespirit when he caught his own father walk towards him, his pitch black pelt smooth against his slim frame. "Hello Whitepaw, are you ready for this?" He asked, his voice gentle, but the implication of what was going to happen next sent a shiver through Whitepaw's back. Before he could answer, Redstar spoke once again over him, "I know others don't like this, but would they rather let Swiftclan take claim to more and more of our forest until they are the ones invading our camp?" The leader asked his son, his red gaze faced towards the groups of cats with suspicion. The white apprentice reluctantly shook his head, quietly agreeing with his father.

"You're smart, Whitepaw. You know this needs to be done, right?" Redstar then faced towards him again, his scarlet eyes gleaming with confidence in his kin. Put on the spot, Whitepaw gulped and opened his mouth, trying to fight against the urge to speak against his dad's plan. Seeing the look in his eyes, the apprentice knew he wanted him to say yes, but his instinct fought against that, knowing that the battle was cowardly and wrong by so many levels. "I... wish it didn't come to this.." Whitepaw finally spoke, his voice shaking nervously, trying to remain neutral on the subject while also not disappointing his father. Redstar blinked in response, to Whitepaw's fear, looking disappointed."As do I. But we need to do this now or else it could be too late."

Before Whitepaw could utter another word, Redstar had already turned his back to him and walked away, heading towards Burrclaw and Blackcloud. Another shiver went through Whitepaw's back, both of guilt and fear, knowing that this was apart of his duty as a clan cat but still terrified of the prospect of dying. If the tales he was told were true, he'd go to Starclan and live for the rest of eternity in the stars with all of his kin and friends, endlessly hunting with no pain or worry. But what if they weren't? What if when you die, you just fall into the abyss, never to see any of those that you loved ever again?

Trying to keep his mind on positive thoughts, Whitepaw walked forward, raising his brows in silent greeting to Oakpaw. "Hey Whitepaw! Those springs going to be ready to go for the battle?" The brown apprentice asked teasingly, something that flew over Whitepaw's head for a brief moment before he let out a groan of realization. "Hopefully... has Fiercespirit gave you any battle training?" He asked his friend about his father, who had walked away towards a group of warriors at this point. "Of course! He said that apprentices will focus on getting the other apprentices out of the way for the warriors to fight each other." Oakpaw explained, "They'll be faster than us, but we're stronger and more durable than them. If we land some good shots, they should run away like the hares they chase all day!"

That's a good idea.. Whitepaw thought to himself. Though just as he was about to voice his approval, Redstar's call from the top of camp shut his mouth and had his blue eyes looking upwards towards his father. The clan did the same, not one peep out of their mouths after the leader's voice echoed throughout camp. "It's time. Everyone who is able, follow me. We shall strike down this evil that is trying to invade our forest once and for all!" Redstar's heavy voice called, "There will be one warrior staying behind. Pantherpelt will stay here to defend the camp in case of any intruders." The leader then announced, his red gaze set on his brother, their amber eyes meeting for a brief moment with unknown emotion before Pantherpelt nodded his head in knowledge and looked away.

"Now, let's go!" Redstar then shouted, hopping off of his den and walking towards the exit, cats from the crowd below beginning to disperse. Gulping, Whitepaw soon followed behind, climbing up the ledges, his heart beating hard against his chest. This is it. Whitepaw thought ominously to himself. Either Clawclan would win this battle and send Swiftclan running, or they lose and... Or what? He didn't know of a outcome of them losing, would they be killed? Chased out of the forest like they planned to do to them with the plains? The unknown both terrified and motivated Whitepaw, as victory was needed in order to not find out any of the dark outcomes.

"Alright, we're as close as we're going to get without being noticed. Time to split up." Redstar called to his clan behind him, the harsh winds blowing dramatically against their pelts. Whitepaw grunted as his whiskers ocassionally blew against his nostrils and lips. "Sunsight, you and the apprentices will go east. Warriors shall go with me west. Rainstorm, get into their camp, distract them, then let out the call when you smell us." Redstar ordered the clan, who nodded their heads, and soon they all split into the two assigned groups, with Rainstorm purring and rubbing her head against Redstar's cheek, before running forward, soon disappearing in the hilly terrain.

Whitepaw let out a deep breath as Sunsight shifted his head to his right and began stalking his way forward, the apprentices following him step for step. Looking around him, Whitepaw noticed a few eager faces. Clawpaw looked excited for everything, his claws unsheathed and digging into the ground with each paw pad he took. Ocelotpaw also had a smirk cross his muzzle, and Cactuspaw even had an excited glint in his yellow eyes.

Meanwhile, Peachpaw was pressed against her other brother, Oakpaw, her ears twitching nervously. At least I'm not the only one. Whitepaw thought, sending a reassuring nod in the direction of the she-cat as the group stalked, soon finding a patch of tall grass to hide their bodies in. He could only just make out a gap in the moor, grass turning to dirt and earth. That must be it. Sunsight's razor sharp gaze looked back at the apprentices' behind him, Whitepaw making out him silently counting the bunch, making sure they were all there before facing back towards the camp.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" The voice of a warrior scared Whitepaw a moment, thinking they were found out, before then realizing that Rainstorm must've made it into camp. "Pl-Please... I come in peace..." A crackly feminine voice responded in return, Rainstorm playing the innocent elder fairly well, with fake fear dripping from her tone. "Rainstorm? What brings you here?" Whitepaw could make out Mountainstar's soft tone, recognizing it from the time he went to the gathering, though this time it was much calmer and collected, probably not having to deal with an ambush on his patrol.

"You're hearing her out? Clawclan scum aren't ones to be peaceful!" "She's just an elder, what can she do?" Bickers came back and forth between the clan, Whitepaw feeling sorry for those who were sticking up for the elder, knowing that her intentions weren't pure. The arguments would continue for a bit longer before they were silenced by Mountainstar. "Enough!" He called out, the bickering voices then stopped. After a few seconds of silence, the leader then began to speak again, "Rainstorm..." until he was cut off, not by any voice or cat.

"Crap.." Sunsight's silent voice growled, and Whitepaw then felt the heavy winds blowing right against her rump and back. Their scents were blowing right into the camp! "...you brought friends with you.." A growl came from within camp, followed by gasps and hisses from the other cats. Then, a shriek came, and Whitepaw knew that had to be Rainstorm. "Clawclan, attack!"


	11. Chapter 10

Whitepaw felt his heart racing like a rabbit as he heard the battle cry, hearing the rustling of leaves as bodies lept from the shrubbery beside and across from him. Knowing that this was it, the apprentice ran and jumped down into the enemy camp, shrieks and screams filling his ears. Cats were jumping at each other, claws extended and ready to kill, bodies rolling around the tough earth below them, blood already beginning to litter the floor.

Apprentices, apprentices, apprentices... Whitepaw repeated to himself, his eyes dashing around the battlefield, looking for someone his size he could take on, just like Fiercespirit advised. But it was only then did he notice the body of Rainstorm laying in the center of camp, blood rushing down from her throat and staining the pretty tortoiseshell fur that surrounded the wound.

"No!" Whitepaw called out in grief, though it was muffled by the sounds of his clanmates and enemies battling, and he knew he couldn't grief now. Looking around some more, feeling his paws shaking, he finally found an elder looking at him angrily, claws unsheathed and one paw covered in blood. His gray fur was matted, with several chunks ripped from the skin, his eyes a cold amber, though in the time of battle it blazed like fire. "Hmmph, and I'll kill you just the same as her, kit!" The Swiftclan cat shouted in rage, looking like a fox eyeing a mouse. Whitepaw almost instantly drew the connection between his angered foe in front of him with the stories of a fierce Swiftclan warrior who refused to retire despite his hindering athleticism and strength, Elderclaw.

Eyes widening, Whitepaw saw the warrior's hindlegs bunch up and spring his scarred body towards the much smaller opponent. Panicking, the apprentice ran right under the leaping body of the old warrior, he was thankful to only lose a few hairs off his back as he heard the large paws of the elder land behind him. He knew he had to go on the attack now, take the advantage and get the tom off whipped around and launched himself at the elder, claws gripping onto his chest as his teeth sunk into his lower back, causing a yowl to escape his enemy's mouth. After some moments of struggling, Whitepaw saw the elder's front paws rise from the ground and the back legs he was attacking gave out. Only too late did he realize what he was happening, and his body smacked down against the earth with the enemy's landing deadweight on top of him the old warrior landing directly on top of him, causing Whitepaw cough up the fur he had biting on and thus release Elderclaw and heave for air as his chest was smashed by the far larger tom. As the elder landed on top of him he spat out his scruff causing his to release the huge old warrior

But he couldn't let the counter catch him too off guard, seeing the vulnerable position he left himself in. Opening his eyes, Whitepaw let out a screech as he saw the Elderclaw standing over him, drool dripping from his gaping maw and eyes burning with a sadistic hatred. Closing his eyes once again, Whitepaw quickly lifted his forelegs up to protect his face and neck from a barrage of slashes. Each slash riddled Whitepaw with such intense pain; more intense pain he had never experienced before, and he knew this would only buy him so little time. "Help!" The only thing the only thing Whitepaw could think to call out, hoping that someone in the mass of battling cats; filled with hisses, screams and bloodshed, that even one would hear him.

But no one came and Whitepaw was prepared to feel those long claws attack his face and throat. Not like this! Instead of a bloody mauling however, a strong voice could be heard from across the clearing. "Elderclaw, they're attacking the nursery!" And thankfully for the terrified apprentice the onslaught on his legs stopped with the gray warrior rushing away. Blood trickled down from the wounds down onto Whitepaw's face and chest as he opened his eyes, noticing the warrior was gone. Shaking his head to get his own blood off of his muzzle and whiskers, Whitepaw slowly got back up onto his paws, letting out long hisses as the stinging of his wounds didn't stop as the scarlet liquid continued to ooze down onto the hard ground.

The nursery...?! Whitepaw couldn't help but think in horror. Queens and kits would be helpless to the onslaught of warriors! With this thoughts, Duckthroat's words echoed in his mind, Tomorrow, if you're hurt... don't be scared to just run, this fight isn't a good one, and you shouldn't have to risk your life over this, and Whitepaw now knew what he meant. Redstar didn't just want Swiftclan to be driven out of the plains, he wanted them to be slaughtered like mice, no matter who stood in his way!

Whitepaw wanted nothing to do with that, and with his scarred forelegs, he wouldn't stand much of a chance in another fight. The stinging pain in his forelegs though halted any attempt for a quick escape, and Whitepaw had to slightly hobble his way to the edge of the clearing. He knew he wouldn't be able to climb up the edge with his weakened legs, and looking his eyes towards the entrance, it was surrounded by many brawling cats. Among them were Cactuspaw and Firefrog each clawing at a burly she-cat who Whitepaw recognized from the border ambush, Steelfur. However, despite the double team, the she-cat was more than holding her own, her attackers more wounded than her.

A shriek of anguish however filled the camp, and Whitepaw quickly turned his head to see a small ball of fur be tossed from a deep burrow, which Whitepaw assumed to be the nursery, into the clearing. Dogface's ugly maw soon followed, his broad muzzle snarled with horrible intentions towards the tiny kit, who couldn't be more than just a moon old. At the entrance of the nursery was Burrclaw, holding a small, suffering tortoiseshell she-cat down to the ground. "Windkit! No, no, no!" The queen's screams wrenched at Whitepaw's heart, her kit dazed and confused, its tiny blue eyes blanky staring up at the vicious warrior above it. It didn't stand a chance against Dogface, and the warrior knew it, biting down onto the defenseless cat's flank and tossing it up in the air, only for it to land with a hard thud down onto the earth.

The thing could barely let out cries of pain and mercy, sounding like the squeaks of a dying mouse. No... Whitepaw thought sickly, his muscles bunching up, watching the cruel display of Dogface slowly tossing around the helpless kit while Burrclaw made sure its mother could only watch in horror. Lifting the helpless thing up once more in his jaws, Dogface held tight onto the kit's tail, looking around him. "You rabbit dungs watching this?!" This muffled cry caught a few's attention, though like the queen, they were wrapped up in their own battles. Dogface then leaned his head back, standing up on his hind legs, the kit's squeaks of terror almost making Whitepaw turn away, afraid of what was going to happen next. But he knew he couldn't allow this to happen, and a surge of strength and rage blasted through his body as despite his wounded legs, he bounded over towards his mentor and blasted his head right into his unsuspecting chest.

A heave of pain escaped Dogface's mouth, and an even louder scream escaped his target's muzzle, small drops of blood gliding through the sky. Whitepaw had to gasp for air as he managed to tackle the tan warrior down onto the ground, just like he did in the defense of Cactuspaw, another thud being heard from behind the apprentice. Turning his head, Whitepaw noticed the kit's body laying on the earth, shaking rapidly, with a small stick of fur leaking blood a few paw steps away from it. Its... tail? He could only assume, as it wasn't long until the tortoiseshell queen raced over to scoop up her kit and race away. But if she's free, then what happened to...-

A flash of tabby brown fur then crashed against Whitepaw's side and interrupted his brief thought, like a boulder rammed against him, and he landed painfully on his flank, gaze blurry as he could only face the ground beneath him. "What are you doing, you damn piece of dung?!" Burrclaw's voice scratched against his ears like a quick swipe of claws, and Whitepaw could hardly think with her hot breath blowing against his cheek, with the occasional drop of spit landing in his whiskers. "We.. aren't killing kits.. that wasn't in the plan.." He breathed in response, finding difficulty to get air into his lungs with the warrior's heavy body pinning him down. A hiss then filled Whitepaw's ear as he felt sharp claws dig into his shoulder, snapping the apprentice out of his dazed state and beginning to kick and wriggle around under Burrclaw.

It wasn't long until Whitepaw felt those claws get ripped away from his flesh, "Get off my apprentice, you dirty fox!" Dogface's scathing voice yelled, and Whitepaw rolled over to see Burrclaw and Dogface eye to eye, hissing in despite. Now is not the time, He could only groan silently, painfully getting back up onto his paws. After a few seconds of the staredown, Burrclaw then sprinted off, jumping into a clutter of cats screeching. Only then did Dogface's dirty green gaze meet Whitepaw's ocean blue for a split moment before the apprentice turned away, hot with embarrassment, expecting a berating. "Get out of here." Surprisingly, was the only words to come out of Dogface's mouth, his head motioning towards the nursery, "There's an exit in there, go out there and run back to camp." Despite this making the second time Whitepaw had brought down his mentor when he was attempting to attack an innocent target, his voice was calm, almost sympathetic towards his apprentice, and it almost made Whitepaw forget the cruel, horrible way he almost killed that kit.

A small part of him wanted to complain and stay to fight, but he knew it would be foolish with his newly acquired shoulder wound that hindered most movement with that leg, and Dogface's glare was more than enough to get him walking. Pushing his head through the hole, Whitepaw held back grunts and groans of pain as his injured legs held up his shaking body. Inside the nursery was a wreck, several nests made from grass stalks and moss were ripped apart, with chunks of fur littering the warm floor, drops of blood leading outside into the clearing. Straight ahead from the entrance into the den was another hole, just large enough for most cats to fit through, but without any way of a fox or badger to claw their way through. The exit was covered in bracken and moss, and as Whitepaw waddled over and stuck his head through the stalks, noticing the other end of the burrow was the same. It was clear the emergency exit wasn't used often, with the lack of any claw or paw marks on the rugged earth, only a few brushes of grass blown in from outside, as well as several spiders making the tunnel their home with webs littering the roof of the rock.

"You damn cowards!" Could be heard from behind Whitepaw, the voice slightly muffled and forced out, as if the cat had something in their mouth. Noting that it was most likely Dogface who didn't have the chance to move from the front of the nursery, he expected some sort of retort, but only an angered growl came from his mentor. "Attacking kits is what you forest dwellers resort to?! I'm going to enjoy spilling your blood!" The voice once again came, and even with the muffled tone, Whitepaw could recognize pure rage and hatred in the voice. Once again, no response from Dogface except a pained howl of anger, sending a chill down Whitepaw's spine. He can't die! Even if Whitepaw hated Dogface's cruel personality and methods, he couldn't just let him get killed!

Crawling back out from the tunnel, Whitepaw rushed as fast as he could on three legs out of the nursery to face his mentor's attacker. "Elkheart!" He called out to the deputy, recognizing the she-cat's long, brown furred body almost instantly from when he spied on the border ambush. Though something was different about her, her mouth seem tied shut with stalks of grass wrapping around her chin to her ears, and even then there was an awkward tilt to her mouth. Her jaw was broken in the ambush, and it seems despite the several moons, it still hadn't healed all the way. The deputy had Dogface pinned down to the ground, her claws digging into the neck of her adversary, blood puddling on the ground below him.

"An apprentice? I'll kill you too!" She shouted in rage, leaving the apprentice's mentor alone for the moment to stare down Whitepaw. Dogface gagged and coughed up droplets of scarlet, and Whitepaw felt sick inside to see his great mentor in such a weak and vunerable state. Though he couldn't focus on that, as he saw the deputy crotch down, springing her hind legs for a mighty leap towards the white tom. Trying to mimic the same counter he used on the pounce as he did with Elderclaw, Whitepaw rushed under the pouncing body, only to feel Elkheart slam her hindpaws down against the top of his head, sending him to the ground with his vision a complete blur. Pain screamed in his head, and yet he couldn't do anything about it, dazed to the point where he couldn't align his paws to stand up properly or even remember where to place his paws to stand.

Laying down on his stomach, rushed breaths escaping his mouth as he tried to regain his vision, Whitepaw knew Elkheart would be on him in any moment, and he had to do something or else she would do what she said she'd do, kill him. However he could hardly even hear, with his ears being flooded with a screeching flash, leaving the apprentice with only his instincts. Finding enough mind to press his front paws down onto the hot earth in a desperate attempt to save himself, he pushed down as hard as he could to lift his torso up, only to throw back his hind legs in a desperate kick, to feel his back paws slamming into the furry body of something. A heave from behind him and the muffled cursing of Elkheart again indicated to Whitepaw that his kick worked, but it would only buy him enough time. The ringing in his ears soon went away, and he could now hear Elkheart's almost thunderous pawsteps.

Wait for it.. Whitepaw blindly thought to himself, trying to pinpoint the exact moment the deputy would leap to try and strike. The steps however just kept coming, with no sign of them stopping, becoming louder and louder, Whitepaw fearing his plan to be failing until he could hear paws slamming against the ground and dirt being forced up into the air. Now! Whitepaw hurried himself in turning around, swiping his right paw blindly, claws extended, trying to hit anything. And they did, as he felt a thick ooze splash against his paw and claws, with the pain-filled screech of his opponent ringing in Whitepaw's ears. Got her! He thought in success, his vision slowly beginning to return to him from the rapid flashes he was seeing before. Blinking rapidly, Whitepaw saw Elkheart standing several tail-lengths away from him, stomping around with blood leaking from her eyes and face. "Can't see!" She screeched, and his satisfaction in hitting his target soon turned to dismay as he saw his slash connected with her eyes, slicing right through them. She's blind! He thought guiltily, only hoping to stop her attack, not to cause any permanent damage.

Trying once more to get back onto his feet, Whitepaw saw the body of his menotr leap onto the helpless deputy, digging his teeth into the back of her neck as his paws pinned down hers. He could only watch in horror as Dogface kept his fangs deep in Elkheart's throat until her struggling slowed down more and more before eventually stopping and her body went limp. Panting heavily, the broad muzzled warrior then climbed off of the dead body of the deputy, walking over to a wide-eyed Whitepaw. "You... you killed her!" Was the only thing that he could gasp out, struggling not to slur his words with the effects of the kick leaving him wobbling on his feet. Two nasty marks were along the tom's neck, thankfully not leaking much blood, but sure to leave some more scary scars on the already torn up warrior. "She was trying to kill us, I made sure she couldn't..." Dogface coughed, his green gaze looking around the clearing, only to set itself on one thing, in which Whitepaw followed suit. Mountainstar. He had Redstar firmly pinned down to the ground, claws around his neck to prevent any movement.

"Attention!" He yelled, his voice summoning the attention of every cat in the clearing. "Swiftclan has won this battle! Clawclan will take their wounded and dead away from here, never to return unless they wish to die!" The leader firmly announced, to the cheers of Swiftclan cats and the dismay of Clawclan. Whitepaw held his breath, both relieved that the fighting ended and no more lives had to be lost, while also being awful, seeing his clan take such a defeat. After a firm stare from Mountainstar down to Redstar, the brown tabby and white tom let go of the black cat, who scurried away, but not before a kick pushed Redstar from behind even further. A hateful sneer was on the face of Mountainstar, as if daring the enemy leader to retaliate, but he kept his head turned away walking forward, fur bristling in clear frustration.

Once he was at the entrance of the camp, Redstar let out a yawl to call his cats over. Soon, the Clawclan cats crowded together, none without a wound and blood on them, a demoralized look on each of them. Redstar was worst off, with a large wound along his neck, along with several on his flank and back, painting his night black fur scarlet with his own blood.

Dogface padded over, leaning his head over to whisper something into his leader's ear. "Yes, I have..." His father's voice dripped with defeat, a look of failure and vexation completely unlike him across his face. "Let's move.." He then stated, holding in a growl, turning his head away from his clan and heading towards the exit. With the clearing now seperated into two groups of two clans, Russetfox walked over to Rainstorm's body, which was now covered in the blood and fur of several other cats, signalling over towards Sunsight to help lift the elder's body and carry it back to camp. Whitepaw followed behind the rest of the clan, his mind still racing from the kick to his head, before feeling a violent heave in his stomach to stop him in his tracks.

Turning his head to a small spot of grass in the clearing, Whitepaw embarrassingly lowered his head and gagged up several chunks of brown and green slime. His entire body felt hot, like every cat in the clans was pressed up against him, his head feeling empty despite the screaming pain racing along inside his skull. Turning his head towards Swiftclan, there were several looks of disgust and filthy satisfaction to watch the enemy apprentice get sick, though those who were not silently taunting him were standing over the corpse of their deputy, letting out yowls of sorrow.

"Here.." Dogface calmly whispered to his apprentice, and Whitepaw felt his paws leave the ground, his scruff and rump being lifted into the air before feeling himself be placed onto a furry back, and he soon recognized it as Dogface's. His legs no longer needing to carry himself back to camp, Whitepaw let himself drift off into unconsciousness, the mixed sounds of grief and celebration soon fading away, the last thought of his mind on the bitter defeat they had just suffered and the disappointed look on his father's face.


	12. Chapter 11

**_Despite his blackout,_** it didn't last as long as Whitepaw would've enjoyed, soon finding himself conscious once more, but without the energy to lift his eyelids or even to speak a single word. The only noise that came out from his gaping mouth was grunts, the trip on the back of his mentor wasn't very smooth, with his shoulder blades digging into the apprentice's ribcage. And it didn't help much as even the smoothest of terrains have the occasional bump in the ground that only shoved those shoulders harder against his chest, enticing groans of discomfort to come from the injured apprentice.

"Get the hell off of me!" Burrclaw's then sudden tone of aggression spooked Whitepaw, sending a shiver down his spine, only to silently sigh in relief as Blackcloud's grunt of irritation and a "Whatever you say." come from him. _Must be hurt bad._ Whitepaw came to the conclusion of, Burrclaw never showed much in the way of weakness, so for someone to try and help her must be a sign of the wounds that she endured in the battle. And even with sharing a home and clan with her, he couldn't think of many reasons to feel bad for her, seeing that disgusting pleasured look on her face when she and Dogface attempted to murder a kitten.

And it's not like she was a joy to be around outside of battle, if you could even get in a word with her constant yammering, often spitting razors in the direction of anyone who even looked odd at her. Though Whitepaw wouldn't **dare** say any of that to her face, as he valued the fur on his back as much as anyone else in the world and he knew a peep about it would get him shredded.

"What now, Redstar?" Whitepaw could recognize Fiercespirit's voice, but despite his name, he sounded deflated and completely defeated, little to no ounce of the proud and strong warrior in his meow that Whitepaw was use to. "Later." Redstar forced out of his mouth, Whitepaw able to tell him trying to hold in his emotions. "Why later? Everyone's here, we need to find some way to-" "I said **later** , Fiercespirit." The two exchanged words, and thankfully with that, Fiercespirit said nothing more, taking Redstar's annoyed and short statement as enough of an answer.

And with that, it was mostly quiet the whole way back to camp, Whitepaw thankful for the strong scent of his homeland once again filling his nose, only able to let out a soft coo in appreciation for the forest. "Hear me, Whitepaw?" Dogface's deep tone awoke him from his scents, and he responded with a quick and affirmative grunt. "Hold on." He only said to his apprentice, and Whitepaw tried his best to grip the broad shoulders of his mentor, feeling the leaves of the camp's entrance brushing against his flanks, and soon, the two were going down into camp backwards, Dogface carefully climbing down the ledges into the clearing.

"Oh my goodness, Whitepaw!" A feminine voice called for him, and the apprentice took a second before recognizing it as his own mother's, Lilyfur. He didn't get to see her often, with his training taking up most of his time, and she had moved on from mothering him to helping Dawnsight and Glasspaw with gathering herbs, as well as giving advice to Fernheart for her kitting. "Move, Lily." Dogface's grunt tried to excuse the concerned mother, but that didn't stop his kin's soft fur press against him. "Not until I find out what happened to my boy!"

"He got banged up. That is the life of a warrior, Lilyfur." Dogface could only respond with the queen pressing against him. Soon, everyone in the battle party had returned to camp, standing in the clearing and letting out quiet swears and hisses as Dawnsight and Glasspaw rushed to treat them. Seeing the opportunity, Dogface let Whitepaw down in the clearing, an audible, relieved grunt escaping his mouth as the weight was lifted from his back. From there, Dawnsight, Glasspaw, Lilyfur and some of the less injured cats, like Ocelotpaw, who could actually match Swiftclan's speed and only came away with a few pesky scars on his ears and haunches, started to help heal their wounded clan members. Whitepaw slowly gained the strength to open his eyes once more, relieved that the sun was hidden by clouds above. Winter would be upon the clans soon, which would be his first, the tales of solid rain, matching the color of his fur, coating the ground in thick layers of flakes. While it all sounded cool, it meant that prey was more scarce and sickness was much more common. Clans often suffered the loss of kits and elders thank to this during the season, their bodies not strong enough to endure the harsh weather and the illness that it spreads.

Gazing upwards, Fernheart was out of the queens' den, chatting with Fiercespirit, trying to comfort him as Ocelotpaw applied a poultice to his stomach. Smoothstep was sitting next to the corpse of Rainstorm, whispering as his nose was pressed against her cheek. He's alone as an elder now. Whitepaw thought grimly, making a mental note to visit his grandfather more after things had calmed down and his wounds healed. Redstar meanwhile, was sitting away from everyone else, his back turned to his clan as Dawnsight applied some webs to his neck wounds. His back fur was bristling, making him stand out like a porcupine, and the medicine cat had to make his tail stop swishing back and forth on the ground as he applied medicine.

"Alright, and you... where do you hurt most?" Glasspaw's voice caught him off guard, her silver gaze looking down at the white apprentice curiously. "Oh... um.. head hurts a ton... and here too.." Whitepaw's speech was still slurred, revealing the cuts to his forelegs to the fellow apprentice, who nodded her head and quickly ran off into the den she shared with her mentor, only a few moments passing by before she rushed back to him. "Ok, so does your head hurt like a headache or do you have a cut or?" Glasspaw quickly asked, sorting out a bunch of herbs that Whitepaw couldn't recall the names of for the life of him. One of them was a short yellow flower that the she-cat quickly chewed up, followed by what looked like a long stalk of grass that had many mini strands of grass sticking out of it. "Headache..." He replied, the screaming pain in his head not getting much better. "Got it, got it." She stammered, applying her poultice to one of Whitepaw's forelegs, holding it in place as she plucked up a spider web with her free paw and used it to stick the chewed up herbs to his wounds.

Soon, she repeated the process for his other leg, Whitepaw noticing the panic and need to hurry up in her face, and only then did he think how stressful being a medicine cat must be. Sickness, battle, even just a common patrol injury, like a thorn in your paw or a twig whacking someone in the face, you always have to be ready and be perfect in your job. Or else you could cause a cat to die because you were inadequate at your job. At least when you're a warrior apprentice, you just mostly deal with hunting and patrolling, battles were rare, and letting apprentices join them was even rarer. All of that pressure on such a young cat must be stressful.

"Ok, before I go. Did anything else happen that you'd think would need herbs?" Glasspaw asked, his eyes looking over towards Sunsight, who was still sitting far away with blood dropping from his hind leg and a cut on his cheek. Taking a second to think, Whitepaw couldn't think of much else, except for his sickness just after the battle. "Well... I threw up-" Before he could even take a breath after his sentence, the apprentice was already rushing off, leaving dust for Whitepaw to cough away and gag on.

" 'cuse me." Sunsight's rough voice then interrupted the apprentice's coughing session, a frustrated look upon his face as the identical warrior plopped down next to him. While their white fur matched well, Sunsight's bright yellow gaze was the first telling sign of telling the two apart, as well as his size. But there were also some subtle features, such as Sunsight's much shorter whiskers and a scar above his left ear.

Whitepaw didn't want to be impolite, but as Sunsight just remained laying down next to him without saying much, it was... awkward. "Um... who did you fight back there?" Was the apprentice's attempt at idle talk, which he instantly knew was a mistake by the way the warrior looked repulsed by the question. "...because I fought Elkheart.." He whispered, his head slinking to the earth in anxiety. Well, he hates me.

"Yeah, and was it you or Dogface that killed her?" Sunsight then asked, suddenly curious. "You know about that?" Whitepaw asked with a blink, not thinking that anyone had an opportunity to find out. "Well Dogface told me, Fiercespirit and Burrclaw. Probably Redstar too." The warrior answered, flicking his ear towards the mentor who was exchanging words with Firefrog and Russetfox, the three of their wounds' covered up with some cobwebs. _Probably letting them know as well._ Whitepaw internally sighed, still feeling guilty over the death. But that's the life of a clan cat, kill or be killed. Didn't mean he had to like it though.

"Dogface killed her, yeah. Elkheart was going to kill him so I helped, just trying to get off of him but then..." Whitepaw explained, letting out a deep breath, the horrified screams of the deputy after being blinded sending a rattle throughout his body. "Yeah yeah, I get ya. Glad you did though, Rainstorm was one cat too much." His voice turned grim, the screeching sound of the warrior's claws dragging along the earth telling him enough what he thought of the elder's death.

"Alright, got you some things to help your head and vomiting.." Glasspaw's voice thankfully interrupted the two's awkward exchange, dropping a few flowers and leaves in front of Whitepaw. The flowers resembled daisies, but were much smaller than the daisies Whitepaw usually sees out on patrol. The leaves were usually thin, the apprentice remarking in his mind how easy it would be to fit at least two of them into his mouth. "Hopefully you are fine with those until at least later, as you'd think, our stock is running really low." Glasspaw rushed her words, her chest raising and falling like a rabbit's.

"Got enough webs for me?" Sunsight asked with a dry voice, the blood on his hindleg now dropping onto the ground, creating a small puddle of scarlet beneath him. Glasspaw gulped, dragging her tail along the ground. "Uh, yeah, but we're out of marigold. Me and Dawnsight will have to get more. Which means... we can cover up the wound, but..." She informed the warrior, her voice drooping from its usual cheerful state to an anxiety-ridden mess. "... we can't actually treat the wound. Not until tomorrow."

"Perfect. That's just perfect..." Sunsight groaned in misery, Whitepaw feeling the frustrated warrior's tail bump against him, lashing from side to side. An awkward silence once again ran along him, Glasspaw's body shaking while Whitepaw slowly lowered his head to swallow the herbs that he was given. With his movement, he could feel Sunsight's angered glare burn into his skin, quickly swallowing the flowers and leaves in an attempt to get away from the warrior as quickly as he could. "I see Whitepaw got his treatment perfectly fine." Sunsight growled, "Did you have a hidden stash of herbs for him or what?" Why bring ME into this?

Glasspaw gulped, shaking her head. "No, I used the last of what he had on him. Figured that since he's younger, he would have a tougher time fighting off infection... than you." She explained, her words wobbling with fear. Her words didn't satisfy Sunsight, who only looked angrier. "Then why did Fiercespirit and Burrclaw get their wounds tended to? Are they more important than me?" He hissed, flicking an ear in the direction of the two senior warriors, who had their wounded covered up by webs and poultices. "Well, no... but Dawnsight advised me to see to them and I did.." The apprentice answered, shrugging.

The argument didn't get unnoticed by the clan, with some heads turning towards the three, Redstar gazing intently on the interaction, more curious than concerned. It wasn't until Dawnsight walked away from the leader to stand in between Sunsight and Glasspaw that everyone in the clan had their eyes on the confrontation. Whitepaw didn't know what was going to happen, so once the sour herbs were swallowed, he stood up and limped away, finding a gap between Cactuspaw and Amberleaf to sit himself.

"Sunsight, I know you're frustrated, but taking it out on an apprentice isn't going to fix anything." Dawnsight calmly stated, though his furrowed brow suggested that he was more angered over the situation than his words let on. "Alright, so let me ask YOU, why are my wounds not seed to?" The warrior asked, his voice lowered as he looked around, looking nervous with all the clan's eyes on him. "Your wounds weren't as significant as the other warriors, and we tried our best to tend to the younger of the battle first." The medicine cat explained, letting out a deep breath. "Yes, me and Glasspaw should've stocked up medical herbs better in preparation for such a battle, and I apologize that we can't treat you at the moment, but look at the scene you've caused!" He flicked his tail upwards, pointing around the camp towards all the cats watching, including Glasspaw who was beginning to calm down, but with a still shaken exterior.

Sunsight tried to find the words to argue back, but nothing came out. "Now, let me get you some cobwebs, so we can at least try to prevent as much bleeding as we can." Dawnsight said, "We'll have to replace the webs regularly, but thankfully those are never low on stock." And with that, the clan seemed satisfied with the confrontation, turning their heads back to those who were talking to, with Sunsight hoisting himself up off the ground and following the medicine cat to his den. "Yikes, all of that over some measly herbs. Sunsight hasn't been the most composed cat ever though." Amberleaf whispered over to Whitepaw and Cactuspaw, shaking her head as she began to lick between her toes.

"What do you mean by that?" Whitepaw asked curiously, not seeing much of Sunsight despite the two living in the same clan, so he didn't know much about the cat. Amberleaf just shrugged, not bothered to answer the question. "Uh, Sunsight is prone to... how do I say..." Cactuspaw was the one who chimed in, looking awkward as his head tilted to the side, as if to find the correct word. "... outbursts. I don't exactly know why, but this one probably had to do with the death of Rainstorm. She was his aunt, and his parents passed just a moon before you were born." He began to explain, Whitepaw listening intently. "She was the last of his family here in the clan, plus... you didn't hear this from me, but he kinda sucks at fighting." Whitepaw nodded, remembering back to the initial battle between Darkclan and Swiftclan, where the warrior was easily overpowered by a larger opponent.

"This battle, he was fighting that one cat that Dogface fought before on the border, Groundpaw I think, probably a warrior at this point.." Cactuspaw continued, looking over to Amberleaf who didn't seem to care much. Knowing how close the apprentice was with the young warrior, he probably told her of his, Oakpaw and Whitepaw's journey to the border to watch the fight. "Obviously I couldn't watch much of it, but he couldn't land a hit on him from what I saw."

"Well, you told me that Dogface even had trouble with him before, and he's probably the best fighter in the clans." Amberleaf chirped in, to which Cactuspaw nodded. "Sunsight probably didn't know that. After I managed to fight off my opponent," He added in a bragging tone, to which Amberleaf just shook her head amused. "I noticed him running off with a nasty gash on his leg, and just some lost whiskers on the other cat. If I couldn't even land a scratch on another cat in a battle, I'd be just as pissed as him." The spiky furred apprentice finished, stretching out and tasting the air.

Whitepaw nodded his head, the sudden outburst making more sense to him. The combination of the death of his aunt plus the inability to put up a worthy fight must've been maddening, and the news of his treatment being delayed must've been the final blow. "Well... why is he still involved in battles then? He's a pretty decent hunter, ain't he?" He asked, looking towards Amberleaf who just shrugged. "Pride." Was the simple answer that came from a cat behind the three, who turned out to be Pantherpelt. "It's not easy for a warrior to realize they aren't suited for battle. I was his mentor back then, and no matter how hard I tried, he just couldn't get the battle moves down." He explained, an almost sorrow look on his face. "He was still made a warrior because he was a formidable hunter and he couldn't remain an apprentice forever. Use to blame myself each time he came back from a fight with blood on his pelt and none on his claws."

"But soon, I realized that all of Starclan themselves could've been his mentors, and he'd still struggle to learn some of the more basic battle moves. It's not his fault, he gives it his all each and every time, but in the end, sometimes cats aren't just meant to fight." Pantherpelt finished, looking towards the medicine den with a frown. "He continues to volunteer for battles and Redstar doesn't turn him down."

Whitepaw, satisfied with the answer, nodded his thank yous to the veteran warrior for explaining, before standing up and beginning to walk towards the fresh-kill den, the thrill of battle and the screeching pain in his head beginning to wear off and the growling hunger in his stomach now becoming apparent. "So, what was this about your little adventure to the border?" Pantherpelt's voice then curiously asked Cactuspaw, who just let out a flabbergasted "Oops..", causing a twitch of Whitepaw's whiskers in amusement. _**Hopefully more days are less chaotic.**_


End file.
